Automakers drive into the metaverse to cater to digitally savvy customers

Marquee car companies are launching virtual reality platforms to cater to digitally savvy younger customers

Last week, car-market leader Maruti Suzuki India unveiled the Grand Vitara on NEXAverse, its metaverse initiative. The mid-size sport utility vehicle (SUV) will also be the first car in the world that can be booked through a metaverse platform, claims Maruti. 

The company plans to spend 10-15 per cent — or Rs 6-8 crore — of its innovation budget on the metaverse, says Shashank Srivastava, senior executive director, sales and marketing, at the firm. He adds that this is only the “initial step.”

(The metaverse is an online, immersive, 3D universe where users can interact digitally.)

Srivastava says that the move will require