You might be able to buy your next car straight from Amazon

Amazon is bringing its easy, online shopping experience to the car market, the company has announced - though for the time being it's only going live in Italy, and you're restricted to three Fiat Chrysler models.

If you are an Italian with your eye on the Fiat Panda, the Fiat 500, or the Fiat 500L, then you can simply click and buy. Amazon says it then contacts customers to ask them which dealership they'd like to pick up their new motor from.

It's promising news for anyone who hates the thought of trawling round car dealerships looking for a good value deal - although at the moment it's not exactly clear what kind of financial checks and processes you'll need to go through to actually pay for the car.

Click and collect

"The time has arrived to give consumers a new, more efficient and transparent way to choose a new vehicle," enthused Fiat Chrysler's Gianluca Italia at a press conference. Online buyers will be eligible for some extra discounts too, the car maker says.

The big question is whether countries outside of Italy will get the same facility in the near future, and Amazon hasn't said either way. Obviously partnerships need to be struck and regulatory hurdles need to be overcome first.

We'll keep you posted about the potential expansion of Amazon Auto, but in the meantime the online retailer's video service has a new car show you can start watching.

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.