Amazon teams up with Hertz to sell used cars online. Learn how this deal could reshape the auto retail market and impact car dealers across the U.S.
Roughly 25 years ago, Amazon set out with a bold vision: to become the place where you could buy just about anything online. Since then, its revenue has surged an astonishing 38,000%, expanding into nearly every corner of commerce. Rivals dread competing against it, and investors rarely bet against it. With nearly limitless resources, Amazon has disrupted industry after industry—until recently, the auto sector remained one of the few it hadn’t shaken. That’s no longer the case.
Amazon has now struck a deal with Hertz, the rental car giant, to help sell its used cars. The announcement gave Hertz’s stock an instant lift, as the partnership promises benefits for both sides: a potential turnaround story for Hertz and a fresh foothold in auto retail for Amazon.
For decades, car dealerships have been the gatekeepers of used vehicles. But Amazon’s scale, reach, and digital infrastructure mean the playing field could change quickly. Hertz, with a fleet of about 560,000 cars—most less than a year old—sells hundreds of thousands of vehicles annually in the U.S. That’s billions of dollars in inventory that could now pass through Amazon’s powerful platform instead of traditional dealer channels or auctions.
Hertz’s journey has been turbulent. It filed for bankruptcy in 2020 during the pandemic, relisted in 2021, and has since undergone major restructuring. Backed by activist investor Bill Ackman, the company posted its best quarter in two years in mid-2025, though executives admit more efficiency gains are needed. Lowering fleet costs and boosting resale channels are central to that plan—making Amazon’s entry perfectly timed.
Amazon itself is cautious. Its auto retail business began in 2023 with Hyundai, offering a digital “showroom” experience where buyers can browse, arrange financing, and complete paperwork—but delivery still happens through dealers. For Amazon, the real prize isn’t just selling cars, but data and advertising. In 2024, Amazon made $56.2 billion in digital ads, and cars provide a new stream of consumer insights to fuel that engine.
Still, not everyone is cheering. Dealers and auction houses see a looming threat. Historically, rental companies offloaded cars to auctions or dealerships, often at discounted prices. But by going direct to consumers—especially through Amazon—Hertz could capture higher retail values while cutting out middlemen. For dealers who rely on auction inventory, even a small shift could tighten supply.
Industry veterans warn this echoes past battles. Rental companies have long enjoyed bulk-buy discounts from automakers, allowing them to resell cars at lower prices than dealers could match. With Amazon’s reach, that advantage only grows. “This feels like what happened 30 years ago—but on steroids,” said one former dealer.
That said, the impact may not be catastrophic. Spread across the nation’s dealerships, Hertz’s half-million cars equal just a handful per lot. And dealerships still thrive on other profit engines: service, parts, financing, and warranties. Yet, the worry is less about today’s numbers and more about tomorrow’s trends. If Amazon proves this model works with Hertz, other rental companies could follow—and the pace of change in a digital-first age is blistering.
For now, Amazon remains a listing powerhouse, not a full-scale car dealer. But its presence alone signals a shift in an industry that has long relied on tradition, franchise laws, and local relationships. As the market adapts, one thing is certain: the old ways of selling cars are under pressure, and Amazon just parked itself right in the middle of the lot.
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