Amazon and South Korean automaker Hyundai announced a broad-reaching partnership which is surprisingly unsurprising.
Amazon sells almost everything from its website already, and auto manufacturers are quickly turning cars into rolling computers, so the multi-tier partnership between Amazon and a car company was seemingly inevitable.
Beginning in 2024 Hyundai will offer its cars and SUVs through the Amazon marketplace which will connect buyers with local dealerships.
Hyundai has 5000 dealerships worldwide and is the third-largest automaker in the world behind only Toyota and Volkswagen.
In 2021 30% of new car sales were completed online during the height of the pandemic and many people prefer the process now.
Similar to other online auto marketplaces, Hyundai buyers are able to shop on Amazon for models, build out features online, and find dealers to work with near the buyer’s home.
Those dealers receive the details of the vehicle the user is looking for and help to complete the purchase.
In exchange, Hyundai has selected Amazon Web Services to provide cloud services for the company including compute, storage, analytics, and generative AI.
In 2025, Amazon’s Alexa will be embedded into Hyundai vehicles to allow hands-free controls to play music or podcasts, set reminders, and check calendars, email, and messages.
Alexa users will be able to control their smart home features, such as checking if doors are locked, or setting the temperature, from the cars with voice commands.
José Muñoz, the CEO of Hyundai and Genesis Motor North America said, “This is a transformational journey we are on together, and we look forward to a very productive long-term relationship with Amazon.”
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