Melanie Hamilton says that even with the current COVID-19 situation, Americans still need cars.

“And what better way is there to learn about the latest vehicles than on the biggest screen in their home,” said Hamilton, who is head of enterprise sales for Effectv.

Effectv is the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable, and the company has launched a Virtual Automotive Showroom for Tier 1 automotive manufacturers.

The company said the announcement means automakers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic can feature their cars on a full-scale, voice-activated virtual showroom for free on Comcast’s Xfinity X1.

In addition, without needing to visit a showroom, X1 customers can discover and explore new vehicles on their televisions.

X1 customers can say “Auto Showroom” into the Xfinity Voice Remote to visit the showroom. They can also tune to channel 889, 991, or 989 — the channel varies by market.

Comcast says it is the only MVPD, or multi-channel video programming distributor, offering a virtual showroom of this type for automotive clients. It allows X1 customers to look through video content from participating automotive manufacturers from their homes.

“The automotive industry is facing challenges they’ve never seen before,” Hamilton said.

She continued, “We created the Virtual Automotive Showroom as a way to help Tier 1 automotive brands during this difficult time.”

At the Virtual Automotive Showroom, brand-specific pages house information and videos organized by vehicle model and make. Information is also available on topics such as technology and safety, customer services, and community involvement.

Alfa Romeo, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, GMC, Jeep, Mini Cooper, Nissan, Ram, and Volvo are among the brands featured at the showroom.

“At Cadillac, we are always looking for contemporary ways to connect customers to our products, and a purchasing process they can facilitate from the comfort of their own home,” said Cadillac chief marketing officer Melissa Grady.

Grady continued, “The Auto Showroom allows customers to get deeper product information about our whole lineup, on their terms.”

To Tier 1 automotive brands, Effectv is offering the Virtual Automotive Showroom for free until July 4.

Effectv said it is making the offer to support the industry, which has seen many in-person showrooms closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In May and June, a full-footprint linear media schedule is promoting the Automotive Showroom to Xfinity customers, including a 30-second call-to-action spot.

The Emmy-award winning Comcast Xfinity X1 platform is now in more than 70% of Xfinity video customers’ homes. Its voice remote averages nearly 1 billion commands every month.

X1 is Comcast’s flagship entertainment platform for Xfinity TV customers. It blends programming from broadcast, cable and premium networks, along with streaming partners into one, “content-first user experience.”

Although the two-month Virtual Automotive Showroom offer currently extends to only Tier 1 automotive brands, Effectv is looking into how to extend and enhance the platform.

Automotive brands can visit www.effectv.com/AutoShowroom to learn how to participate.