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Too Early to Junk Auto Retailers on Report of Amazon Parts Push

  • Analysts see limited threat from ‘dangerous competitor’
  • Automotive retail index falls as much as 1.3 percent
An employee performs a quality control check on newly manufactured automobile tires in the storage area at the Hankook Tire Co. Ltd. manufacturing plant in Racalmas, Hungary, on Wednesday, August 24, 2016. With consumer prices falling, Hungarian central bankers are ramping up unconventional easing to avert having to further lower the benchmark rate, which they've said they want to keep unchanged for a sustained period.
Photographer: Akos Stiller/Bloomberg
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Amazon.com Inc.’s reported push into the auto parts retail sector spooked investors on Monday, sending shares of several auto retailers down, but analysts say the market might be overestimating the threat.

The 20-member BI North America Automotive Retail Competitive Peers Index fell to its lowest since Jan. 3 after the New York Post reported Amazon has signed contracts with auto parts makers in recent months. AutoZone Inc. declined as much as 5.1 percent, O’Reilly Automotive Inc. dropped 4 percent and Genuine Parts Co. fell 4.1 percent. EBay Inc. shares also slipped on concerns that its online auto parts business will see more competition.