KEY POINTS
Hyundai is venturing into the metaverse by bringing again its iconic Pony automobile mannequin, which debuted in 1975 and swiftly grew to become South Korea’s inaugural mass-produced and exported automobile.
For this initiative, in one more collaboration with the metaverse app Zepeto, Hyundai has unveiled a brand new digital world dubbed “Timeless Seoul.”
The principle purpose of this digital expertise is to evoke and have fun the period when the Pony was first launched, with a selected concentrate on partaking Gen-Z customers and offering them with a style of Hyundai’s model essence.
Transporting customers to the ambiance of 70s and 80s Seoul, the digital world permits guests to traverse the streets, discover stationery outlets, and immerse themselves within the nostalgic ambiance of “Retro Seoul avenue,” the place they will hearken to vinyl information.
Customers can even partake in quests to earn digital cash, which may then be used to improve their digital Pony on the “Pony storage” and even take a digital experience with it throughout the metaverse.
The digital expertise additionally gives a “Standing subsequent to Pony” picture sales space, enabling customers to play the function of influencers attending a brand new Pony mannequin launch occasion and seize snapshots with their avatars.
This collaboration with Zepeto just isn’t Hyundai’s first foray into the metaverse. The partnership started in 2021, initially paying tribute to the Sonata N line and subsequently showcasing the IONIQ 6.
Past the collaboration with Zepeto, Hyundai has additionally independently immersed itself in different Web3-related initiatives, notably unveiling the Taking pictures Star NFT assortment in 2022, which ultimately changed into “MobED (Cell Eccentric Droid),” marking Hyundai’s first Metamobility NFTs.
In January, Hyundai expanded its metaverse presence by getting into the Roblox metaverse with “Hyundai Future Journey,” providing futuristic experiences and digital collectibles.
Taking a production-oriented method to the metaverse, Hyundai additionally unveiled an Innovation Middle in Singapore in November 2023, integrating robotics, AI, and the metaverse to revolutionize electrical automobile manufacturing.