Prime Now, the same-day delivery service of Amazon, is expanding into automobiles by allowing customers to order a test drive of a Hyundai vehicle.
Named the "Prime Now. Drive Now." program, customers will be able to go online and have a test drive window reserved for them between 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. The sessions last from 45 minutes to 60 minutes.
The program, however, only covers the 2017 Hyundai Elantra, and is only limited to customers living within Los Angeles and Orange County.
The Prime Now. Drive Now. program provides users with the convenience of not having to go to a dealership in order to request for a test drive. The vehicle will instead be brought to the customer's house or to any preferred location of the customer by a trained professional, who will guide the customer through the test drive.
Customers are still not allowed to purchase the vehicle through Amazon though. If they like the 2017 Hyundai Elantra, a visit to the dealership is required, though they will be assisted in finding the nearest Hyundai dealership to them.
The program was first opened to Prime Now members this past weekend of Aug. 20 and Aug. 21, and will once again be available on Aug. 27 and Aug. 28. Interested customers are only required to have a driver's license to schedule a test drive, and there will be no charges that the customer has to pay.
It looks like the program is a limited time offer for now in its pilot stage, but there is always the possibility that Amazon will upgrade the program into a permanent fixture in the near future. Amazon could expand the program to include more Hyundai models or vehicles by other car manufacturers, as well as launch the program into other locations, but that might depend on just how much interest Prime Now. Drive Now. generates over these first attempts.
At the time of writing though, it seems that all the time slots for the coming weekend are already placing interested customers on a waitlist. It would not hurt to try to get a test drive in despite that, but it bodes well for the program as it seems that there is high demand from customers for such a service.
The partnership between Amazon and Hyundai continues for Prime Now. Drive Now., as the two companies announced last week that Amazon's digital personal assistant Alexa, which powers the Amazon Echo, can now be asked to remotely start the engine of the Hyundai Genesis G80 and G90.
