- Last year, Amazon started selling new cars online.
- Now, the e-commerce giant is planning to enter the used cars market.
Amazon, the American e-commerce giant, wants to enter the used car market—with a twist. Late last year, Amazon partnered with Hyundai to sell new cars online without having to visit a dealership, but now the company is working to become a rival to Carvana.
“We’re adding more dealers, and we’re excited to add not just new inventory for those dealers, but also used inventory,” said Fan Jin, director of Amazon Autos during Automotive News’ Daily Drive podcast earlier this week. “That’s really our next biggest milestone.”
In the new car business, Amazon’s approach is to offer customers a clear view of available vehicles and their prices—a huge step forward compared to the traditional dealership experience where markups and hidden costs are the name of the game. Customers choose a car and pay for it online, and only have to visit a dealership when it’s time to take the car home.
When it comes to used cars, however, the approach could be different. Dealers already have all kinds of choices for advertising used cars, and there is certainly a wider array of cars at varying price points for buyers to choose from. But Amazon Autos doesn’t see these listings as competitors for its upcoming used-car platform. That's because those other means of advertising only show the car, whereas Amazon Autos can actually sell it.
“We see ourselves as providing this channel for dealers for a full e-commerce transaction,” Jin said.
Details are yet to be finalized, but the purchasing experience could include a visit to a dealer mid-process instead of just at the end. Everything else will stay online.
“They may start online, then go to the dealer to look and have a test drive, then come back, think about it, and then finish the purchase online,” Amazon Autos’ director said.
Besides helping used car dealers connect with customers online, the e-commerce site is looking into selling things like extended warranties, vehicle service contracts and maintenance packages.
“We want to surface the right options to them and give them the right amount of information,” Jin said to Automotive News.
Currently, Amazon Autos is selling new cars in 68 cities in the United States—up from 54 in January. More dealers are signing up to use the service, and we’re eager to see what models will be available when used cars are added to the site.
