Fiat Chrysler teams up with Amazon to sell cars online

MILAN Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) (FCHA.MI) said it has teamed up with U.S. internet giant Amazon (AMZN.O) to start selling cars online offering an additional discount.

Initially only Italian buyers will be able to purchase their cars with a simple click online and the offers on Amazon.it will be limited to three models – the 500, the Panda and the 500L.

FCA said the choice was deliberate because the Panda is Italy’s biggest selling car, while buyers of the 500 and its larger 500L version embody the young and adventurous nature this initiative is trying to appeal to.

“The time has arrived to give consumers a new, more efficient and transparent way to choose a new vehicle,” Gianluca Italia, responsible for Fiat Chrysler in Italy, said during an online press conference.

The manager at the world’s seventh largest carmaker said the partnership will appeal to buyers looking for deals from the comfort of their own home, adding that existing promotions will be improved by up to 33 percent for online customers.

He said research had revealed that half of Italians were willing to buy a vehicle online but 97 percent still preferred to pick it up at a traditional dealer.

So, after making their clicks online, buyers will be contacted by Amazon to decide on a dealer where they can finalize their purchase and pick up the car. The vehicle should be ready within two weeks of the initial click.

(This version of the story corrects paragraphs 1 and 5 after company says special online offers would improve existing promotions by up to 33 percent, not that the full price would be cut by a third)

(Reporting by Agnieszka Flak and Stefano Rebaudo; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)