Amazon’s apparent move into the UK automotive market is becoming increasingly difficult for the industry to ignore, writes Professor Jim Saker, IMI president and automotive retail expert.
The recent announcement in AM that Amazon is advertising for a key account manager for its automotive division in the UK is interesting, but potentially challenging for an industry already undergoing profound changes in how consumers research, buy and fund cars.
Autotrader’s own 2026 annual report identifies Amazon as a prospective UK competitor and warns that large technology companies could disrupt the traditional car-buying journey.
That warning is significant, not least because any meaningful move by Amazon would potentially challenge the position of the UK’s dominant automotive marketplace.
Disrupting the traditional car-buying
If Amazon replicates the model it has developed in the US, however, it would not necessarily be seeking to become a conventional car retailer.
The dealer remains the seller, while Amazon provides the digital storefront, vehicle discovery, financing and paperwork functionality and much of the customer journey.
The customer generally collects the vehicle from the participating dealership. Amazon itself describes the proposition as powering the digital storefront.
Evidence emerging from the US
Although reliable third-party data on Amazon Autos is difficult to obtain, some of the evidence emerging from the US is striking.
Hyundai, for example, reports that 78% of offline Amazon-influenced Hyundai sales came from customers who were new to the Hyundai brand.
More striking still is Amazon’s claim of a 10x-plus offline sales multiplier: for every Hyundai purchased through Amazon Autos, more than 10 additional Hyundai vehicles were subsequently purchased at dealerships by customers who had browsed Hyundai on Amazon Autos.
Amazon also says that 68% of its Autos customers had not previously considered the dealership from which they ultimately bought a vehicle.
These figures need to be treated with some caution, not least because they are based on data and analysis from the companies involved. Nevertheless, they point to an interesting proposition.
Putting consumers in front of dealers
Amazon’s value may not primarily lie in selling the car online. Instead, it could lie in putting consumers in front of dealers they might otherwise never have considered.
From a dealer perspective, that could be highly attractive.
Amazon already has an enormous consumer audience and an established relationship with millions of shoppers. It would not necessarily need to persuade motorists to visit another specialist automotive website; it could bring the car-buying journey into an ecosystem they already use every day.
The UK provides ample opportunity
The UK market provides ample opportunity. More than two million new cars were registered in 2025, while the used car market is considerably larger, with Autotrader estimating around 7.7 million used-car transactions during the year.
The key question is how Amazon would ultimately structure and monetise the proposition in Britain. If dealers retain control of stock and pricing while Amazon owns the digital customer journey, the model could prove compelling.
It could also put further pressure on existing automotive marketplaces and force dealers to reconsider where their customers begin the buying process.
An important gateway
Amazon may therefore not need to sell millions of cars to have an impact. If it succeeds in becoming an important gateway between consumers and dealers, the implications for the UK automotive retail landscape could be considerable.
Author: Professor Jim Saker, IMI president and automotive retail expert
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