Why the heck is Volkswagen Malaysia launching its own NFT collection?

Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) is launching its own collection of “exclusive” NFTs (aka, Non-Fungible Tokens) with new media art collective Filamen. The collection includes four NFTs based on the flagship Volkswagen model, and is available for purchase now on Pentas, a South East Asian NFT platform powered by Binance Smart Chain.

“Volkswagen have always been at the forefront of digitalisation initiatives in Malaysia, and pushing digital boundaries is something we constantly strive to do,” said VPCM Managing Director, Erik Winter.

The NFTs are presented on Filamen’s virtual gallery and co-curated design research platform, No-to-scale. Filamen’s artists—Syed Mohamad and Jason Choo—were commissioned to create the NFTs inspired by the Volkswagen Arteon’s “design and performance—from the sound, to shape, and the little details that matter”.

Choo’s NFTs are described as “fictional imagery”. The art has a futuristic, space-y theme with rocketship shapes, as he says that his work “imagines worlds in which we can inhabit”.

“The marriage between art and technology have always intrigued me. As an artist, I appreciate Volkswagen’s approach towards innovation, and it was thrilling to be able to interpret and transform the Arteon beyond just a vehicle, and give it life within my art,” explains Jason.

Syed’s, on the other hand, revolves around the theme of “energy” and “motion”. It’s meant to mirror the “waves of the ocean surface”, and it reminds me of the shaggy carpets you can run your fingers through. All of the NFTs, unlike the screenshots I made of them above, are moving GIFs or video files which can also include the sound of a car’s engine or the sound of a car being ignited like a rocket.

“This project has opened my eyes to looking at a car from a different perspective. Being able to explore every inch of the Arteon and to then express my emotions through my art, whilst remaining true to not just my artistic style—but the Arteon’s DNA, was a rewarding experience,” says Syed.

If you’re unfamiliar with what NFTs are, it stands for non-fungible token, which means that it’s a “one-of-a-kind item” that you can purchase with cryptocurrency like Ethereum. But instead of an item that you can hold, they’re basically pixels in your computer screen. So they can be art, music, tweets, or whatever you want them to be—as long as it’s in a digital format. You can dive a little bit deeper here.

The announcement that Volkswagen Malaysia has made of launching its own NFT collection is a little unexpected, but not totally surprising. Despite the incredible toll it takes on the environment, NFTs can make artists, and the companies that launch them, a huge amount of money.

Currently, you’ll need 2.50 BNB (Binance Coin), or RM2,196.63 to purchase one of the NFTs under the Accelerated Futurescapes collection—which is what the Volkswagen’s NFT collection is called. That’s a lot of moolah.

Volkswagen Malaysia isn’t the only company getting into NFTs, either. TikTok released their own collection which also features Lil Nas X, Bella Poarch and Grimes. There are also plenty of other companies as well.

[ IMAGE SOURCE ]

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