Volkswagen of America has officially changed its name to Voltswagen. It is not yet April Fool’s Day. The company claims this is a real thing that has happened and not an advertising campaign.
The move applies only in the U.S. Everywhere else, VW will remain Volkswagen — which is, after all, an actual German word meaning “people’s car.”
Adding to initial speculation that the move was a prank, the company briefly posted to its media websites a half-written press release dated April 29 announcing the change, then took it down. But, with a tweet this morning, Volk…Volks…Voltswagen has confirmed that the name change is real.
As part of a move toward electric vehicles (EVs), the name change comes along with a logo update. Electric VW vehicles (phew, at least the abbreviation still works) will wear the entire “Voltswagen” name on badges in a new, lighter shade of blue; gasoline-powered VWs will wear the abbreviation in the old, darker hue.
In a statement, Voltswagen says, “By definition, Volts are the derived units for electric potential between two points. 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.”
VW (we’ll be honest…it feels better to stick with that, for now) recently released the well-reviewed 2021 ID.4 electric SUV in the U.S. and has announced plans to revive its iconic VW Bus as an electric vehicle.
