Alfa Romeo's latest release features NFT and blockchain technology

Alfa Romeo Tonale unveiled its new 2023 Alfa Romeo Tonale - the first NFT certified car in the world. Ushering in the beginning of the brand's transition into electric vehicle production and the first to implement an NFT certification in each iteration of the subcompact Tonale Hybrid SUV.

One of the First Cars to Enter the NFT Arena

According to the Italian carmaker, the NFT certification serves as proof of ownership and contains the build specs of the vehicle. With the customer’s consent, the digital certificate also records data on mileage, number of battery charges, service data, and other maintenance records on the blockchain . However, servicing of the car must be handled by a certified Alfa Romeo dealer before the data can be recorded.

“Upon customer’s consent, the NFT will record vehicle data, generating a certificate that can be used as a guarantee of the car’s overall status, with a positive impact on its residual value.”said Francesco Calcara, head of Alfa marketing and communication.

Alfa Romeo believes this feature will boost the car's value in the secondhand market.

"Digitalization is a key enabler of our metamorphosis. Tonale is the first car ever to keep a blockchain, non-fungible token. NFTs are based on the same distributed information logic that protects your Bitcoin," Calcara further explained. "It records all data on the blockchain."

Details on how the Tonale NFTs will work are limited, for example, how the blockchain the NFTs will work on is currently undisclosed. However, Nick Cappa, the company's spokesperson, revealed that the company plans to "soon" extend NFTs to "the whole Alfa Romeo lineup."
 

The Tonale will be available to order in the fourth quarter of 2022, with plans to ship in the first quarter of 2023. 

Alfa Romeo in the Future

Alfa Romeo is currently undergoing a transition as the brand plans to focus exclusively on electric vehicles in a few years. Alfa Romeo's Tonale will be one of the last cars from its lineup to use an internal combustion engine to meet their  goal of ridding combustion engines and becoming all-electric by 2027. 

The automobile industry has been showing interest in the NFT space recently. The luxury Italian car brand Lamborghini recently released its exclusive NFT collection. Top teams in the Formula 1 competition are also experimenting with NFTs – either having released an NFT collection or planning to.

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