Mahindra enters NFT space with first batch based on Thar SUV

Mahindra & Mahindra on Friday informed it has entered into the world of NFT or non-fungible token with the first trench of tokens being released. With it, Mahindra is now the second Indian automotive OEM - after MG Motor India - to enter the NFT space and - little to anyone's surprise - the first NFT offering is based on the iconic Thar SUV.

Underlining how Thar has a larger-than-life image and its enormous popularity in the Indian automotive space, a Mahindra press release informed that the first NFT will be released in collaboration with Tech Mahindra. The first-ever series from the company has four NFTs and these would be up for grabs via an auction which begins from March 29. Additionally, all proceeds from the auction will go to Project Nanhi Kali which supports education requirements of girl children in the country.

Understandably, Mahindra is quite upbeat about entering the NFT space. “Mahindra & Mahindra has always been a pioneer in adopting new-age digital innovations to enhance customer experience. The launch of NFTs is another exciting step for us to leverage the next frontier of digital marketing," said Veejay Nakra, CEO of Automotive Division at M&M Ltd. “Mahindra & Mahindra has always been a pioneer in adopting new-age digital innovations to enhance customer experience. The launch of NFTs is another exciting step for us to leverage the next frontier of digital marketing."

What are NFTs

The term ‘non-fungiable’ in itself means that this here is a token that is a one-of-a-kind product. But it isn't really a product and is more of a unit of data stored on a blockchain. It can be sold or traded but it is unique or very limited in number. In short, it is a digital asset with no real world presence but does represent real-world objects like monuments, computers, music or in the case of above, the Thar SUV.

Forbes says that a mammoth $174 million has been spent on NFTs since November of 2017 and that this number is only increasing rapidly now. And while digital artwork of something can be created nearly infinite times, an authentic and valuable NFT is almost always either exclusive or very, very limited in number while also carrying a stamp of authentication.

Also, many confuse NFTs with cryptocurrency but the main difference between the two is that while, for example, one Bitcoin can be traded for another Bitcoin and the value of two Bitcoin is the same, this isn't the case between NFTs. An NFT based on Thar, for instance, may be of lesser or greater value than say of an XUV700 if Mahindra does choose to bring the latter out.