Upland started out in 2019 with only selling properties. It has since expanded to many different types of assets, and has turned the metaverse into a super-app. The property market in Upland is well developed, but with cars having been introduced in 2022, and this feature still in its infancy, there are still a lot of questions around how the vehicle economy will function. Below you can find an introductory list of different types of businesses that will help to shape and build up the vehicle economy.
It should be clear that the foundation of the vehicle economy must include the manufacturing of vehicles. Just like all non living objects in the metaverse, vehicles must be manufactured using spark. The first vehicle manufacturing plant is owned by Upland's car brand - MV Motors, located at 4220 Network Cir. in Santa Clara.
In the future, players will be also be able to manufacture their own vehicles in their own factories. Learn more about manufacturing here. It is important to note that unlike manufacturing of things like outdoor decor, there will be a more stringent requirements on who will be allowed to manufacture cars.
Factories are limited to manufacturing only, and in order to sell a vehicle, it must be done through a showroom. You don't need to own a factory and manufacture vehicles to operate a showroom. There may be manufacturers that aren't interested in the sales aspect, and vice versa. However, if you are able to be in control of both aspects, you will be able to keep your costs down.
Showrooms will be able to sell both brand new cars as well as used cars.
It's not just your block explorer that needs to travel, but assets like outdoor decor items and structure ornaments need to be shipped across the metaverse - and this starts with shipping them from the factory to a showroom, and from there to the owner's property.
Players will be able to use vehicles to travel not only between cities, but also within cities. Upland has said that there will be cities that will only be accessible by vehicle. There are several different types of vehicles - each with their own specialized utility. For example, you probably wouldn't want to use your sports car to ship your outdoor decor item to your home, or that semi-trailer may not be very successful in car racing. You could do it, but it might not make the most sense to do so.
Players will be able to offer their services of transporting these goods or acting as an Uber service or taxi to take people places in the metaverse.
Learn more in this video about why you need a car in the metaverse.
Not every player will be vehicle owners. The cost of owning a vehicle might be too much for a specific player. It's possible that you do own a vehicle, but are traveling in a different city, where you don't own one. Renting a vehicle might be your best bet if you need a car for a short period of time.
This might be a desired option for players traveling to a city for a specific event, or to purchase a number of items from a metaventure. For players who like the convenience of traveling as they please, renting a vehicle would be a desired option above taking public transportation or waiting for a taxi/Uber.
Car racing is an important part of the vehicle economy. Players will be able to design their own tracks mapped to real world streets. These players will be able to compete and race their cars around these tracks to win prizes. Players that are able to create unique tracks that can attract other players to race and compete will be able to have that location benefit from increased foot traffic and therefore economic activity.
Learn how to provide value through creating Upland racetracks here and top 5 tips when designing your track.
We know that block explorers will function as drivers in the race. The vehicle, driver and track have great influence on the results of the race. Block explorers will have trainable attributes meaning that by racing with a specific explorer, it will gain experience and level up its abilities.
Players who invest their time in training block explorers will then be able to sell them in block explorer shops to players who are looking to race on racetracks that your explorer has favorable stats.
In the real world, you need energy to power your vehicle - whether it be gasoline, electricity, hydrogen, etc. In Upland, that energy is spark. You will be required to stake spark on your vehicle in order to charge it. The charging will likely take place at a player run charging station metaventure.
After a period of car racing, or shipping items or players across the metaverse, your vehicle will need to make a stop in order to recharge. Each vehicle has an energy efficiency rating that will influence how frequently you will have to recharge your vehicle. For anyone looking to turn their vehicle into a transportation business, this energy efficiency rating will be important to help you determine your vehicle or fleet's availability.
While car racing you could get into a car accident - anything from a fender bender to something more serious. Beyond brining back your vehicle to working condition, you might choose to upgrade some of its features - improved suspension, more powerful engine, etc. This type of metaventure will likely require spark to be staked to the vehicle in order to repair or improve it. Similar to a real car garage, not all fixes are immediate and often require large amount of man hours to improve the vehicle. The work required will likely be based off of a certain amount of spark hours depending on the scope of work required.