April Fools 2025: Did the Carmakers Fool You?

The first of April is significant in many ways. It marks the start of the new financial year, and it is also a day when loads of pranks are played. These pranks can be played either on other people or by OEMs on unsuspecting viewers on their social media channels. Here are some of the best April Fools pranks played by OEMs.

Hyundai’s Mobilet

In what seems to be a very crucial necessity for humans, Hyundai has introduced the world’s first autonomous toilet on wheels, called Mobilet. Hyundai ‘carefully’ chose five cities – Los Angeles, London, Paris, Seoul and Tokyo – around the globe for a pilot run. In a very elaborate prank, Hyundai even listed the number of public restrooms for each of these cities, with Tokyo winning the list. It even created a dedicated app to call the Mobilet, where there are multiple versions of the Mobilet that one can order. The app looks uncannily like Uber’s. Is that a potential lawsuit?

Coming to the vehicle, the Mobilet is a small pod on four wheels where all the glass is completely blacked out and the body has a silver finish. The Mobilet is a unisex toilet on wheels, comes with facial recogniton, comfort toilet seat (wrapped in leather), ambient lighting, noise control, and an aroma air diffuser. Where the prank became unbelievable was with the Stealth Mode, where the Mobilet converts to a food truck. Kudos to Hyundai for pulling off such an extensive prank. 

BMW’s hair on the screen

BMW went with a very simple prank for April Fools Day. It posted a reel about the new BMW M3 CS Touring finished in Green. It looks like a very simple video where various beautiful shots of the car is shown. But wait! What’s that on the screen? Is that a hair? Is the screen cracked? Well, that’s the prank! BMW has placed a hair on the screen that will compel you to keep wiping it off until you realise it’s embedded in the video. Simple, yet effective. 

JSW MG Motor India’s pothole detector

JSW MG Motor India played the April Fools Prank over the course of three days. It started by saying, “You won’t believe it. Nor will your shock absorbers” and “Why drive past potholes when you can glide over them?”. This may not have struck a cord with the audience that MG is developing a feature for its ADAS suite where it can detect potholes until the second post. 

In the second post, MG said its ADAS feature “uses camera and sensors to detect and avoid potholes while driving, even at high speeds”. It even went a step further by asking the audience to comment, and it will send “step-by-step instructions on how to update your ADAS”. But, alas, it turned out to be a very elaborate prank but had a very important underlying message. It partnered with PotHoleRaja and asked its audience to send photos of potholes to improve road conditions in India. A prank with a public safety announcement is just what the doctor ordered.