It all started when Volkswagen of America “accidentally” published a press release. The execution fell apart from there.
Two days before April Fools’ Day, VW of America published a partially-written draft of a press release announcing that as part of its EV transition, it will change its name to Voltswagen. “This name change signifies a nod to our past as the peoples’ car and our firm belief that our future is in being the peoples’ electric car,” it read. The company then quickly pulled it down.
In our Streisand-effect world, there’s no better way to get attention than to pretend you don’t want it. Within hours, “Voltswagen” was trending on Twitter. Most major media outlets had published articles announcing that the change was official.
The company has now admitted that the name change was an April Fools’ Day prank. On March 30. For…ok, we don’t know why.
“There will be no renaming of Volkswagen of America,” Volkswagen spokesman Mark Gillies said late Tuesday night. “The alleged renaming was designed to be an announcement in the spirit of April Fools’ Day, highlighting the launch of the all-electric ID.4 SUV and signaling our commitment to bringing electric mobility to all.”
Stock Implications
An AP report this morning speculates that “The fake release could land Volkswagen in trouble with U.S. securities regulators because its stock price rose nearly 5% on Tuesday, the day the bogus statement was officially issued. Investors of late have been responding positively to news of companies increasing electric vehicle production, swelling the value of shares of Tesla as well as of some EV startups.”
Volkswagen — with a K — currently sells only one electric car in the United States – the ID.4 crossover. There are plans for more electric VWs in the near future, including a battery-powered rebirth of the iconic VW Bus. But no renaming.
