Mention “auto market” to Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and he rubs his hands with glee.
It has been revealed that, next to books and stuff for your home, Amazon’s mega-wealthy CEO Bezos is apparently fizzed up about the potential of the car industry.
Yes, Amazon has already invested about US$700m ($1.07b) in EV start-up Rivian, so that’s possibly no great surprise at a corporate investment level.
But according to a recording of an “all staff” meeting the Amazon founder called a couple of months back (obtained by news outlet CNBC), Bezos himself called the automotive world “a fascinating industry”, commenting that “there are so many things going on with Uber-isation, electrification [and] the connected car. It’s going to be something very interesting to watch and participate in.”
Participate in?
Well, no, we wouldn’t anticipate seeing the Amazon logo neatly affixed to the boot-lid of a car any time soon. In fact, it probably isn’t so much the car that interests Bezos, as the way in which they will be used in the future.
Amazon loves the idea of its many millions of packages being delivered without the pesky hindrance of third-party freight companies. Remember the self-delivering Amazon drone “panic” of a couple of years ago?
Bezos now seems to be embracing the idea of self-driving — as opposed to self-flying — delivery service vehicles. In addition to the investment in so-hot-right-now Rivian, Amazon has also invested in self-driving start-up Aurora, which has quickly become a go-to for autonomous drive think-tankery. Another company Bezos has been transferring cash into is Embark; another autonomous driving start-up, but one focused on heavy trucks rather than passenger vehicles.
Whatever shape Amazon’s auto industry-related investments take, it can certainly afford it. In the first quarter of 2019 Amazon’s operating profit amounted to US$4.4b, with a cash balance of US$47b; both record highs.