On Sunday South Korean automotive manufacturer Hyundai Motors announced that it was entering the community-based non-fungible token (NFT) market.
The carmaker will collaborate with the ‘Meta Kongz’ NFT brand to release 30 new limited edition ‘Hyundai x Meta Kongz’ NFTs tomorrow, with further projects planned throughout the year. Meta Kongz are randomly generated profile picture NFTs, similar in concept to the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, released on the Korean Klaytn blockchain and with a floor price of around $13,000. Ten of the NFTs were sold to existing multi Meta Kongz owners for around $3,000.
Hyundai is also collaborating with the NFT and play-to-earn blockchain gaming brand Meta Toy DragonZ, and the NFT and metaverse platform WITCH.
Aiming to build its own NFT community, Hyundai has opened a public Discord server and created a new Twitter account for its NFTs. The company hopes to appeal to a younger audience, specifically targeting the Millennial and Generation Z (MZ) demographics.
“The Hyundai NFT universe will extend the Hyundai brand experience, especially with MZ generation, in a completely new way, further reinforcing our commitment to innovation in both the real world and in the metaverse,” said Global Chief Marketing Officer and Head of the Customer Experience Division at Hyundai, Thomas Schemera. “We are extremely excited to introduce ‘Metamobility’ through our own NFTs and start this journey with ‘Meta Kongz’.”
In January, Hyundai revealed its new ‘Metamobility’ concept. This involves using virtual reality (VR) devices to remotely control physical robots. It could also allow users to connect physical smart devices, such as cars, to virtual spaces in the metaverse for VR experiences.
One potential use of Metamobility could be to complete work tasks from remote locations.
“The idea behind Metamobility is that space, time and distance will all become irrelevant. By connecting robots to the metaverse, we will be able to move freely between both the real world and virtual reality,” said President and Head of the Transportation-as-a-Service (TaaS) Division at Hyundai, Chang Song.
Meanwhile in the automotive industry, Volkswagen SA launched an NFT advertising campaign for the arrival of its new Polo. And McLaren Automotive chose InfiniteWorld as its official metaverse partner to launch an NFT collection based on McLaren’s luxury cars.
