MG Motor India, the automotive company owned by China’s SAIC, unveiled “MGVerse”, its metaverse platform. The virtual experience launched yesterday to coincide with the Auto Expo 2023. The platform was created in collaboration with Metadome.ai, a 3D and XR technology company that specializes in immersive experiences for automotive companies.
The goal of the offering is to provide spaces for customers, partners, and employees of MG Motor to interact, collaborate, and shop.“This initiative will help us further strengthen our relationship with GenZ and Gen Alpha,” said Gaurav Gupta, Chief Commercial Officer, MG Motor India.
The initial release of the platform consists of only an Explore & Creator’s center, and a virtual experience of the Auto Expo 2023. MGverse also allows users to create a new avatar or use existing Ready Player Me avatars to access the platform. The experience will eventually expand to include an NFT Gallery, MG Car Club, Gaming Arena, and MG Knowledge Centre. The proposed additions would allow users to create NFTs, connect through member-only events, and play games.
This is not the first of MG Motor’s ventures in web3, as the company had previously used blockchain to create a digital passport for its SUV car model.
MG Motor’s ventures are but a small portion of the growing interest of automotive players in web3. For the automotive industry, the growth in web3 investments are driven by its use in three key areas: manufacturing, in-vehicle immersive experience and marketing. Covering its bases in terms of marketing and immersive experiences, BMW recently launched a futuristic concept car that projects a virtual world through its windscreen. More common strategies used by automotive companies resemble Škoda’s initiative. The company launched its first experience in the Skodaverse, where it enabled users to participate in virtual test drives and view NFT galleries.
