Heels & Horsepower Magazine

Volkswagen launches the new Polo with South Africa’s first NFT brand campaign

By H&H Admin

In celebration of the new Polo with IQ.DRIVE, Volkswagen, the People’s Car brand has launched South Africa’s first NFT (Non-Fungible Token) brand campaign

In celebration of the new Polo with IQ.DRIVE, Volkswagen is taking things to the next level while embracing the future of mobility. The People’s Car brand has launched South Africa’s first NFT (Non-Fungible Token) brand campaign, with a future-focused commercial incorporating Volkswagen’s first collections of NFTs.

“Our new Polo NFT campaign and Mzansiverse commercial is testament to Volkswagen’s eye on the future, not only in the innovation of our vehicles but in embracing the passions of our fans and driving evolution in how we engage with them,” said Bridget Harpur, Head of Marketing for the Volkswagen Passenger Car Brand.

Inspired by the virtual realm and gaming trends, the new commercial portrays the innovative new Polo navigating through a futuristic and gamified version of Mzansi – the Mzansiverse – with digital avatar characters to match.

The ad offers fans a window into a future South Africa like they’ve never seen it before. Inspired by the metaverse and powered by the new Polo with IQ.DRIVE, Volkswagen has created a real-meets-virtual world where anything is possible.

Like Volkswagen, the commercial is leading the way as the first brand ad, globally, to incorporate NFTs in the creative. To celebrate the game-changing arrival of the new Polo, Volkswagen has created five unique collections of NFTs and dropped them into the commercial to gamify the fan experience.

With the Polo being locally manufactured and in the spirit of Volkswagen’s continued commitment to ‘Drive Local, Support Local’ the entire campaign, commercial and NFT Collections are all proudly locally created.

The panoramic sunroof is the most popular optional feature in the Volkswagen model range

Press Release: Volkswagen South Africa

Of the 55 737 Volkswagen cars (including Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles) sold in the first 10 months of 2021, the majority of them were sold with the tilting and sliding panoramic sunroof – making it the most popular optional feature across the model range.

“The panoramic sunroof is especially popular in the Polo GTI and Golf GTI model ranges, which have seen 90% of all of these vehicles being sold with this optional feature. The panoramic sunroof is a standard feature in the Golf R and Touareg. The only reason we do not have a 100% uptake in the GTI models is due to the fact that some of our corporate customers do not opt for the panoramic sunroof for their fleets,” said Steffen Knapp, head of the Volkswagen Passenger Car brand.

The panoramic sunroof was also the most selected optional feature in the Tiguan model range. In the outgoing Caddy model range however, only the fixed sunroof is available and this was the most popular optional feature in 2021.

In the T-Cross and the T-Roc model ranges, Park Assist with the rear view camera was the most popular. In the Touareg, the Advanced Safety Package, which consists of Lane Assist and Side Assist with Night Vision and Head-up display, was the most selected optional feature in 2021.

Due to the utilitarian nature of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and particularly the Amarok, the best-selling optional feature was the heavy duty suspension and tow bar which enhances durability and practicality.

The Volkswagen model range has a host of class-leading driver assistance systems. The Advanced Safety Package was the best-selling driver assistance system with 80% of Touaregs sold in South Africa having this feature.

In the Kombi range, Trailer Manoeuvring Assist was the most popular optional feature. Due to its size, most Crafter customers ordered Park Assist with the rear view camera for improved visibility and manoeuvrability.

A total of 41 exterior colours (solid paint, metallic paint and pearlescent paint) are offered in the Volkswagen range and Pure White was the best-selling exterior colour.