Amazon Expands Auto Push to Take eBay Motors’ Turf

Amazon has begun offering used vehicles through its Amazon Autos platform, starting with Hyundai dealers in Los Angeles.

Consumers can now browse, compare and purchase used and certified preowned Hyundai vehicles directly on Amazon, according to a company blog post on Monday (Aug. 4). More car brands and cities will follow in the coming months.

Amazon is offering a 3-day, 300-mile return policy and a minimum 30-day, 1,000-mile limited warranty for used car purchases. All fees will be included in the price, along with vehicle history. Buyers can go to a participating dealer for a test drive.

The program expands on Amazon’s relationship with Hyundai, the first car company to let the eCommerce giant sell its cars on the shopping website. Before this partnership, Amazon let users research vehicles and referred them to car dealers. It did not sell cars directly to consumers.

That changed in 2024, when Amazon began selling new Hyundais in partnership. Now, the service is expanding to 130 U.S. cities, as well as adding used car options in LA. The feature will also be available in other cities in the future.

JPMorgan analyst Rajat Gupta views Amazon’s latest move as “essentially providing an alternative lead generation channel for new and used car dealers,” according to TipRanks.

Gupta sees “minimal risk of disintermediation of the dealer channel given the complexities involved in franchise regulations and used car sourcing and reconditioning as well as the criticality of a robust service network.”

Moreover, the analyst believes dealers are “unlikely” to list their inventory if finance and insurance commissions are not guaranteed.

Amazon said dealers can focus on developing a relationship with the customer in person during the handoff.

In March, Hyundai also formed a partnership with autonomous vehicle/robot delivery firm Avride.

The deal focused on the development of autonomous vehicles using Avride’s driving system, while also expanding Avride’s fleet of Hyundai IONIQ 5 self-driving vehicles.

The companies also said at the time that they planned to explore autonomous delivery services using Avride’s robots.