Hyundai looks to ‘Evolve' sales strategy

Hyundai will take another step in its experimental vehicle-marketing relationship with Amazon this year to see if the online retailer can play a bigger role in sales.

Hyundai believes Amazon can deliver showroom customers, said Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, at the J.D. Power Auto Summit in Dallas on Thursday.

"This year, we'll move that further," he said.

Hyundai launched its Evolve showroom on Amazon in October 2021 — purely as a way to display its vehicles to online shoppers doing research. The site gives shoppers details about individual models, and directs them to a dealership if they want to pursue a purchase.

Without revealing specific plans, Parker said he believes the Amazon platform can do more, possibly allowing shoppers to click on a model and buy it. "We think that's a huge opportunity to sell cars," he said.

"The transaction still takes place at a dealership," he added.

Hyundai is preparing for growth in the U.S. market, Parker said, including more sales of electric vehicles.

He said 70 percent of Hyundai's 800 dealers are in some stage of construction on their stores, which will include the addition of 2,000 service bays.

Hyundai officials have made no secret of their displeasure over the rules contained in last year's Inflation Reduction Act, which render all of the brand's EVs ineligible for the federal tax credit of $7,500. The rules require an EV be made in North America to receive the credit, and all of Hyundai's EVs are currently built in Korea.

But a loophole in the rules will at least permit cars designated as "commercial" to receive the tax credit, with the $7,500 going to the automaker or its finance arm. The loophole could unleash more EV leasing.

"It's better than nothing," Parker said of the loophole. "It's an opportunity and we're going to take advantage of it. We're going to play the deck of cards that are being dealt."

Parker said that a $5.5 billion EV factory Hyundai is constructing near Savannah, Ga., will begin turning out vehicles in 2025. When that pipeline opens up, a large new source of Hyundai products will meet the requirements for federal tax credits.

But Parker said the industry is facing a challenging year in 2023 — despite the good news of auto production levels coming back and dealer inventories being replenished.

Hyundai got down to just 15,000 vehicles in dealer inventory at one point last year, compared with 150,000 a year earlier.

The company made the decision to shift all of its business to retail, cutting fleet sales to zero until the situation improved.

Parker said Hyundai resumed a small share of fleet sales late last year.