Morgan Stanley says Amazon could eventually sell cars on its site
Morgan Stanley says Amazon is getting serious about getting into the $1.2 trillion new and used car sales market, and could even potentially start selling cars on its site, in a note published Friday.
The note comes a day after Amazon launched Amazon Vehicles, a new site that lets users browse thousands of different car models, although you can't buy the vehicle directly from the site - yet.
"The site (for now?) does not allow customers to purchase automobiles (either on platform or off platform). This could change over time though dealer franchise laws prohibit the sale of new vehicles over the internet, but used cars and parts are largely allowed," Morgan Stanley's analyst Brian Nowak wrote in the note.
Amazon delivered a new Nissan Versa Note car to a customer a couple of years ago, but that was part of a special one-time promotion.
The note also suggested Amazon could potentially partner with dealerships in order to sell new cars on its site, although that might take some time. In any case, a series of moves by Amazon indicate the online retailer isn't taking auto sales lightly, the note said, highlighting the following announcements recently made by the company:
- Launch of Amazon Vehicles
- Partnership with Hyundai whereby Amazon will bring cars to consumers' locations for test drives
- Amazon Echo integration with certain car brands to allow voice control control for certain car functions (A/C, lock doors)
"As such, one cannot rule out the possibility of Amazon selling used cars directly to customers one day, especially given their expertise with warehouse management and logistics," the note added.