Re: Volkswagen of America Changing Name To Voltswagen
Looks like only VW’s electric car division will see the change from ‘k’ to ‘t’.
Quote: Volkswagen’s American division appears poised to change its name to Voltswagen, switching the k to a t in a nod toward the automaker’s investment in electric vehicles.
Quote: The German automaker s announcement on the change appeared briefly on its media site Monday before it was removed, having apparently been released before it was ready for an official rollout.
Volkswagen spokesperson Brendan Bradley declined to comment Monday.
But VW was not hacked, the announcement is not a joke, it s not a marketing ploy and the plan is for the change to be made permanent, said a person familiar with the company’s plans on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
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Volkswagen landed itself in a sticky situation this week after its April Fool s stunt went awry. The spoof first came about when the brand intentionally published a press release draft on 29 March about its US division being rebranded to Voltswagen of America . The release was later removed and the next day, on 30 March, Volkswagen published a full press release quoting president and CEO of the US division Scott Keogh. He said that while it might be swapping out the K for a T , the automotive brand is not changing its brand s commitment to make the best-in-class vehicles for consumers worldwide.
Volkswagen s April Fools Stunt Misses The Mark—And An Opportunity To Earn Back Trust forbes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from forbes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Written by Associated Press on April 1, 2021
DETROIT (AP) Volkswagen of America issued false statements this week saying it would change its brand name to “Voltswagen,” to stress its commitment to electric vehicles, only to reverse course Tuesday and admit that the supposed name change was a joke.
Mark Gillies, a company spokesman, confirmed Tuesday that the statement had been a pre-April Fool’s Day joke after having insisted Monday that the release was legitimate and the name change accurate. The company’s false statement was distributed again Tuesday, saying the brand-name change reflected a shift to more battery-electric vehicles.
Volkswagen’s intentionally fake news release, highly unusual for a major public company, coincides with its efforts to repair its image as it tries to recover from a 2015 scandal in which it cheated on government emissions tests and allowed diesel-powered vehicles to illegally pollute the air.