Hyundai to be first automaker to sell cars on Amazon

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s top automaker, will be the first carmaker to sell cars on Amazon in the US while providing drivers with the global e-commerce giant’s popular voice assistant Alexa in vehicles to expand its market share in the global No. 2 automobile market.

Hyundai and Amazon on Thursday announced a strategic partnership, which includes Amazon launching online sales of Hyundai vehicles next year. Starting in 2025, buyers of Hyundai’s next-generation models will have access to the hands-free Alexa service they use at home while in their cars.

The world’s third-largest automaker along with its affiliate Kia Corp. has selected Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its preferred cloud provider to accelerate its digital transformation with AWS capabilities -- from compute, storage, database and analytics to generative artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT).

“Partnering with one of the world’s most customer-centric organizations unlocks incredible opportunities as we continue to expand our portfolio, grow our sales network, transition to electrification and realize the future of smart mobility,” Hyundai CEO Chang Jae-hoon said in a statement.

HYUNDAI CARS ON AMAZON

In 2024, auto dealers for the first time will be able to sell vehicles in Amazon’s US store and Hyundai will be the first brand available for customers to purchase.

That is expected to make it easy for customers to purchase a new car online and then pick it up or have it delivered by their local dealership at their convenience, Amazon and Hyundai said.

Customers will be able to search on Amazon for available vehicles in their area based on a range of preferences, including model, trim, color and features before choosing preferred cars and then checking out online with their chosen payment and financing options.

“Together, we will provide customers with more of the buying experiences they want and support dealers with an efficient and effective selling platform,” said Marty Mallick, Amazon’s vice president for Worldwide Business and Corporate Development, at a press conference for the partnership at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

The cooperation is predicted to help Hyundai expand its online sales channels, which the automaker has been trying to increase. Currently, about 840 dealerships are selling Hyundai cars across the US. For now, only 18 of them plan to offer vehicles on Amazon from January but more are scheduled to join them in the second half, according to Hyundai Motor America.

The move is likely to benefit customers, said a Hyundai official in Seoul.

“Customers will be able to compare more options online more easily to buy cars,” the official said. “Dealers may offer more competitive prices by reducing margins per unit compared to offline ones to expand the customer base.”

VEHICLES WITH ALEXA

The maker of the IONIQ electric vehicle series plans to install Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant technology, in its next-generation models in the US.

From 2025, Hyundai drivers will be able to simply ask Alexa to play music, podcasts, or audiobooks, set reminders, update to-do lists and check calendars.

Customers are allowed to control their smart home from the road, such as asking to warm up the house on their way home, double-checking doors are locked and managing smart lighting and Alexa routines.

Drivers will also be able to ask Alexa for up-to-date traffic updates or weather reports and voice-control the in-vehicle media player or navigation system with certain Alexa features accessible even when internet connectivity is intermittent or not available.

“The existing models for the US have been providing only voice recognition functions. But Alex will allow drivers to utilize IoT in vehicles,” said the Hyundai official in Seoul.

Hyundai aims to become a more data-driven organization with a cloud-first technology strategy, migrating its current on-premises applications, which support everything across research, product engineering and customer engagement, to AWS as part of a multiyear agreement with Amazon.

The automaker plans to prioritize business cases like manufacturing and supply chain to help optimize production and minimize costs, security and disaster recovery for resiliency, and connected vehicle development to bring new features to drivers around the globe.

“We look forward to a very productive long-term relationship with Amazon,” said Hyundai President and Global Chief Operating Officer José Muñoz, who is also president and chief executive officer of Hyundai and Genesis Motor North America.

(Updated with comments of Hyundai official in Seoul)

Write to Nan-Sae Bin and Yoo-Chung Roh at binthere@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.