Cars are surely among the most expensive things that most of us will buy. Apart from houses, there aren’t many things more expensive than a good car. Luxury cars can cost even more than a regular house, and it’s a privilege saved for the ultra-rich. However, virtual luxury cars can get users closer to the real deal. MacLaren, Mercedes-Benz, and Alfa Romeo are a few companies investing in this market. Read more about it here.
Virtual Ride
NFTs took the gaming world by storm and tapped into several sports and trends. Car racing games with NFTs are now common, spreading across several sports and games. There are even NFT slots, like the NFT Megaways, at casino.netbet.co.uk. However, Alfa Romeo is doing something a little different with non-fungible tokes.
The new Alfa Romeo’s SUV, the Tonale, comes with an NFT version of itself, but what for? According to the company, this technology will help store any relevant information about the car on the blockchain. The company claims it’ll preserve the car’s residual value for those willing to resell it. In this case, NFT and blockchain are used to track a car’s maintenance, increasing its reselling value.
This feature will only be enabled if authorised by the owner, though. Only certified dealers are authorised to store such information. The model is yet to be released, and there are still more questions than answers about it. For instance, Alfa Romeo’s spokesperson, Nick Cappa, couldn’t give straight answers about which blockchain will be used.
Miles Ahead
The company wants to take this initiative to its future cars and claims it’s the only company in the market to do so. The new model will be released in 2023, and it’ll be a subcompact SUV. Tonale will also be an electric car, the first of many. Rumours have it the 111 years old company plans to build only electric vehicles (EVs) by 2027. The North American market should be receiving its first all-battery vehicles (BEV) by 2025.
Comeback
Alfa Romeo’s new marketing push comes after years of decline globally. In 2020, the company scored a series of negative results. In Germany, its sales dropped about 23%, in just one month.
In France, the situation was even worse: -44% during the year. Similar results came from Spain, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. In the United States, Alfa Romeo returned to the market in 2014, after a 20-year hiatus. Even so, it’s still struggling to compete with other luxury cars, like BMW, which is consistently ahead of the Italian brand in sales.
However, this situation could be about to change. Alfa Romeo was sold to Fiat Chrysler in 2007, which merged with a French company, the FCA, creating Stellantis. Stellantis combines 14 brands of luxury cars, offering sports, premium, and commercial vehicles. So, the former Italian giant is no longer alone.
Despite its pioneering use of NFTs in the car market, fans of the Italian legend can also buy them as digital arts. In a recent auction, Alfa Romeo’s NFTs were sold for prices ranging between USD 70,000 and USD 203,000. Is Alfa Romeo finally making the crisis bite the dust?
