Automobiles and Metaverse — A Perfect Match?

Regardless of what you think about the Metaverse — whether it is a mere tech-bro buzzword or whether it is the future — it’s just a matter of time before it enters every industry under the sun in one way or another. That includes the automotive industry.

According to predictions made by financial services giant J.P. Morgan, annual Metaverse revenues can hit upwards of a cool $1 trillion in the coming years once it extends its influence across sectors.

More specifically, in the case of the auto industry, the Metaverse — and the broader context of Web3 — may very well revolutionize the game. From community engagement, brand-building, manufacturing, and product personalization, the convergence between the digital and physical realms is set to open up an entirely new world of opportunities for the car sphere.

On the verge of a paradigm shift

American multinational tech giant Nvidia foresees the rejuvenation of the automotive industry in 2023 when it predicts industries to harness the power of the Metaverse to enhance their operations to a whole new level. This paradigm shift is expected to enable increased synergies, efficiency, innovative products and services, and unique customer experiences.

In particular, Nvidia predicts that Metaverse integration in the car industry will take place in two major aspects.

First, through the use of digital twins, or virtual models designed to reflect physical automobiles into manufacturing facilities where the cars are being produced. Automobile companies can, for instance, tweak, track, and refine processes to improve production efficiency. Doing so will allow them to create strictly better and cheaper vehicles besides determining which parts need improvement.

Second, the convergence between digital design and actual production will change how both groups work, open up new creative solutions, and help streamline the designing process by using an AR/VR-enabled environment to create realistic, indistinguishable virtual counterparts of vehicles or accessories slated for production.

Moreover, the unwavering demand to own unique, personalized vehicles is an opportunity that is ripe for the taking by automakers, particularly in when it comes to physical customization. Simultaneously, car manufacturers can harness non-fungible technology to enhance their digital footprint and brand loyalty, while delivering immersive customer experiences just as other industries have harnessed NFTs to do the same.

The future together of Metaverse and automobiles 

The intersection between Web3, the nascent Metaverse, and the automotive industry doesn’t end there. One of the most important aspects of the technology itself as claimed by Nvidia is how it will bolster ties between retail customers and automobile brands, products, and services.

Just imagine the possibilities: 3D simulations, test drives in augmented or virtual reality, and one-of-a-kind, immersive product experiences.

Major auto manufacturers are already getting in on the act. For instance, French multinational automobile conglomerate Renault is in the process of creating its own industrial virtual platform which is set to create a Metaverse where they can test out innovations and increase synergies. The French automaker expects their Metaverse experiment to save them over $330 million in the coming years.

Meanwhile, in the beginning of December, Italian automobile producer Fiat turned heads in the industry by introducing the Metaverse-powered virtual showroom, allowing clients to take realistic virtual test drives and explore realistic digital representations of their latest vehicles. 

Not to be outdone, American automotive giant Ford announced its plans to enter the Metaverse by filing 19 trademark applications for virtual cars, clothing, trucks, and vans, as well as online NFT marketplaces, with Japanese manufacturers Nissan and Toyota as well as Korean auto giant Hyundai following suit. It’s not a matter of if, but when.

Conclusion

It looks like the future of the automobile industry lies in the adoption of new digital and technological paradigms. Progressive automakers are leveraging the benefits that Web3 and the Metaverse brings to the industry. There’s so much money being plowed into the Metaverse that in about five years, it’s not a stretch to believe that every automaker worth its salt will find novel use cases for the Metaverse on their side of the business.