Volkswagen is a huge car company.
This group comprises of 12 brands from 7 European countries, that include the Volkswagen car brand itself, as well as: Audi, SEAT, ŠKODA, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ducati, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Scania and MAN.
In addition, the Volkswagen Group also offers a wide range of financial services, including dealer and customer financing, leasing, banking and insurance activities, and fleet management.
Founded in 1937, VW survived the oil crisis, and has since been considered among the biggest car companies the world has ever seen.
But in the world where the trends shift away from fossil fuels to electric vehicles, VW needs a new approach.
It needs a new brand, and that new brand was leaked to the internet through its website, before its official announcement.
The rebrand is Voltswagen, where the letter 'k' is Volkswagen is replaced with a 't' as a nod to the company's investment in electric vehicles.
VW published the announcement on its press site on Monday, March 29, 2021, saying that it would be changing the name of its U.S. operations to "Voltswagen of America" in an attempt to highlight its EV program.
“The new name and branding symbolize the highly-charged forward momentum Voltswagen has put in motion, pursuing a goal of moving all people point-to-point with EVs,” the automaker wrote in the release.
The car company called the rebrand a “public declaration of the company’s future-forward investment in e-mobility,” saying that Voltswagen shall be placed as badges on the exterior of all VW's EV models.
Volkswagen's fossil fuel-guzzlers shall continue having the the company’s well-known “VW” emblem only.
To “preserve elements of Volkswagen’s heritage,” the release said that the company planned to retain the dark blue color of the VW logo for gas-powered vehicles, while using a light blue to differentiate “the new, EV-centric branding.”
According to the release, the name is for the U.S. only.
VW is keeping will keep the Volkswagen in Europe, while Voltswagen shall be a subsidiary of the “Volkswagen Group of America.”
The release also said that Voltswagen of America would remain an operating unit of Volkswagen Group of America and a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, with headquarters in Herndon, Virginia.
At first, the leak was through to be an April Fool's Day prank, given that the it occurred just days before April 1. Some also through that VW's website was hacked.
However, a senior employee at Volkswagen of America, who asked not to be named, confirmed this, saying that the name-change announcement was genuine, and had been erroneously published ahead of schedule.
As noted by some publications, the release that was briefly leaking, was incomplete.
For example, it had notes indicating that further photographs and quotes were to be added before publication. Then there was the way to explain how Voltswagen and VW badging would co-exist for at least a certain amount of time after the name change goes official.
What's more, the release was dated April 29.
"We might be changing out our K for a T, but what we aren't changing is this brand's commitment to making best-in-class vehicles for drivers and people everywhere," said VW of America CEO Scott Keogh in the release.
A 'Premature' April Fools' Joke
Later, it was realized that the name-change is actually a hoax. It was indeed an April Fools' Day prank that went a few days too early.
The announcement was only meant to raise awareness about the company’s all-electric ID.4 SUV, in order to build hype for the vehicle, a spokesperson said in a statement.
“It’s a premature April Fools' joke. It’s part of a marketing campaign for the ID.4,” the spokesperson said.
