It’s been just about a year since Hyundai announced it would sell its full lineup of cars on Amazon, and since then not very much has happened. Now, dealers are starting to get pissed, and folks are wondering if this team-up between the automaker and online retail giant will ever actually happen.
Mike Stanton (no relation to two separate New York Yankees), CEO of the National Automobile Dealers Association, voiced his annoyance at the whole situation during a panel discussion held by the Automotive News Congress on September 24.
This is what he had to say, according to Automotive News:
“What I am hearing right now is that the dealers are frustrated,” Stanton said. “They’re not there yet with the agreement. It appears to be another digital retailing tool at the moment and probably not top tier.”
NADA is working with lawyers from both Hyundai and Amazon to ensure their agreement functions and is consistent with state automotive franchise laws, Stanton said. Amazon, as a big retailer, clearly wants a great customer experience and product, he said, but those goals are more complex than perhaps it realized.
“When you look at our whole ecosystem of vendors that we work with … we need these partners to make sure that we can deliver on that experience,” Stanton said.
He said he believes Amazon understands the complexity of how the car-selling process works, but the partnership pilot still has a lot more work to go.
“They still haven’t set up a situation where the dealer can deal with multiple banks or work on trades, so I think more will come,” Stanton said.
Stanton isn’t alone in these feelings. Another panelist — Inga Maurer, a senior partner at McKinsey & Co. — said dealers should be a bit weary of the Amazon-Hyundai linkup because Amazon will likely use their customer data to market other products to them, including aftermarket parts. I really don’t dig this idea, man.
Here’s what Maurer said during the panel at the Automotive News Congress:
“It’s important that dealers understand what they’re giving up for data and what it means down the road,” Maurer said. Amazon likely will use their customer data to market other products to them including parts purchases, she added.
The partnership between Hyundai and Amazon was first announced in early October of 2023. Well, babe, it’s late September of 2024 and we’ve barely seen any movement. At this point, I’m not even sure if it’s really worth it. Sure, it’ll probably be a bit easier than just buying a car from a dealership, but it opens up a whole other can of worms, especially about data and protection.
I don’t know man, I don’t see this thing happening any time, and I’m not so sure anyone should even bother. Anyway, if you want to learn more about this whole mess and find out how it could impact customers if it does eventually get sorted out, head on over to Automotive News for the lowdown.
