As Amazon CEO Andy Jassy shared, Amazon and Hyundai Motor announced a wide-ranging strategic partnership.
“Hyundai is a highly innovative company and shares Amazon’s passion for trying to make customers’ lives better and easier every day,” said Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO. “Our broad strategic partnership must do just that, from changing the ease with which customers can purchase vehicles online to making it easier to use… Alexa in Hyundai vehicles for entertainment, shopping, smart home adjustments and calendar checking to enable Hyundai to transform its customer experiences and business operations by moving to AWS. We look forward to innovating together for many years.”
Jose Muñoz, Hyundai’s CEO of global operations and president and CEO of Hyundai and Genesis Motor North America, and Marty Malick, Amazon’s vice president of global business and corporate development, revealed three key parts of the announcement at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
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1. In 2024, car dealers will for the first time be able to sell vehicles in the US Amazon store, and Hyundai will be the first brand available for customers to purchase.
The new digital shopping experience will make it easier for customers to purchase a new car online, then have it picked up or delivered through a local dealer at a time that suits them. Customers will be able to search Amazon for available vehicles in their area based on a range of preferences, including model, trim, color and features; Choose their favorite car; Then check online with their chosen payment and financing options – all within the Amazon experience they already know and trust. This new shopping experience will create another way for merchants to build awareness of their selections and provide convenience to their customers.
Hyundai has become Amazon’s official auto sales launch partner
2. Hyundai has selected Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its cloud provider of choice to accelerate its digital transformation with AWS’s broad, industry-leading capabilities – from compute, storage, database and analytics to AI (Generative AI) and IoT (Internet of Things).
As part of a new multi-year agreement, Hyundai will become a more data-driven enterprise with a cloud-first technology strategy, moving its existing on-premises applications — which support everything across research, product engineering and customer engagement — to AWS. Hyundai will prioritize business cases such as manufacturing and supply chain to help optimize production, reduce costs, security and disaster recovery for resilience, and develop connected vehicles to bring new features to drivers around the world. Additionally, AWS and Hyundai designed and implemented a Master Builder training and certification program to train Hyundai engineers in critical cloud skills.
3. Next generation Hyundai cars will be more responsive and interactive with built-in Alexa.
Starting in 2025, customers who purchase Hyundai’s next-generation vehicles will have access to the hands-free Alexa experience available at home while in their car. Hyundai drivers will be able to ask Alexa to play music, audio files, or audiobooks; Set reminders; Update to-do lists; And check calendars. Customers will also be able to control their smart home from the road, such as ordering house heating on their way home, double-checking the doors are locked, and managing smart lighting and Alexa routines. Drivers will also be able to ask Alexa for traffic updates or updated weather reports, and use voice control with the in-car media player or navigation system – with some Alexa features being able to be accessed even when internet connectivity is spotty or unavailable.
“We are excited to work with Hyundai – the world’s third-largest automaker and a leading innovator in the industry,” Malick said during the press conference held on stage in Los Angeles. “Together, we will provide customers with more of the buying experiences they want – and support merchants with an efficient and effective selling platform.”
“This is a transformative journey we are on together, and we look forward to a very productive and long-term relationship with Amazon,” Muñoz said.
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