Tired of hearing about NFTs just yet?

We can’t prove it, but we’re pretty sure nobody actually understands exactly what they are or what they do. That hasn’t stopped Alfa Romeo from issuing an NFT with each purchase of their new Tonale SUV.

With this move, Alfa Romeo claims to be the first brand to fully adopt “digitization” in the auto industry. But, what does it actually do?

This is where things get interesting. Unlike other notable NFT projects that claim ownership and community as the key tenet of their value, the Tonale actively records info about the vehicle to the NFT over time. 

Maintenance records, miles driven, accidents and wrecks – it’s automatically recorded to the token via the blockchain. That’s if you get it serviced only at certified Alfa Romeo service centers, of course.

In many ways this feels like the first iteration of how crypto enthusiasts say blockchain technology will eventually change our lives. It certainly feels preferable to have a singular, undisputed record of a vehicle’s life span, but we’ll see how much the market values this brand new feature.