You won’t be able to buy a Voltswagen in the US any time soon. But it is very likely that your next Volkswagen will be electric.
As most automakers are positioning themselves for the future of electric vehicles, Volkswagen took a step further by rebranding itself. But as it happens, it was just an early April Fool’s Day joke.
Related | Why Pizza Hut Asked Customers To Disconnect From WiFi For An Hour
Everything goes too fast nowadays, that is the power of social media. So when Volkswagen wanted to create the buzz by pretending to rebrand itself as Voltswagen to celebrate its commitment to electric vehicles, it took only minutes to take the Internet by storm.
People could not believe it. Some loved it immediately and applauded the change. Others hated it and became very vocal about it. But in the end, it was nothing but an early April Fools’ Day joke.
The “accidental” release that Volkswagen Group of America would change its U.S. brand name to Voltswagen of America was carefully planned. But after revealing the joke, the company explained it wanted to really emphasize its commitment to investment in the future of electric vehicles.
“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 Scott Keogh, president and CEO of Volkswagen of America, in the fake release. “We have said, from the beginning of our shift to an electric future, that we will build EVs for the millions, not just millionaires.”
In reality, Volkswagen (which means the people’s car, btw) is aiming to reduce its carbon footprint by 30% within the next 4 years and to achieve net-zero carbon neutrality by 2050. And the company also projects to be selling over 1 million electric vehicles worldwide by 2025. In total, the brand promises to release more than 70 new electric models across the VW group by 2029.
While the 83-year-old brand isn’t changing its name, the future-forward positioning is smart and “looks to the very fabric of what Volkswagen of America stands for: sustainable mobility,” said Jeffrey Guberman, associate director of strategy at consultancy Interbrand.
You might also like
More from Featured
The Reality of Careers in Social Media: Insights from Hootsuite’s Latest Report
What’s it really like to work in social media? Hootsuite’s CMO, Elina Vilk, delves deep into the current landscape of …
Do Google SEO Tactics Work on Social Media?
Do the SEO tactics we use on Google also work on social media? In this article, Hootsuite's Inbound Marketing Strategist, Liz …
YouTube Is Testing AI-Generated Video Summaries
YouTube has recently started testing a new feature that automatically generates summaries of videos using AI.
Meta Prepares To Launch AI Personas To Retain And Engage Users
According to industry sources, Meta is preparing to launch its AI personas feature in an effort to increase engagement with …
TikTok To Discontinue TikTok Now, Its BeReal Clone
TIkTok is pulling the plug on TikTok Now, its BeReal clone, a little over nine month after it was first …
Miller Lite Created Beer Ice Cubes To Cool Your Beer
The Miller Lite Beer Cube Tray lets you freeze beer into small iced beer cans so you can keep your …
Meta Launches ‘Meta Quest+’ VR Subscription For $7.99
The new Meta Quest subscription will give you access to the top titles on the device every month. It costs …
New Feature Helps Creators Choose The Best YouTube Thumbnail
YouTube is trialling a new "Test & Compare" feature that helps creators choose the best YouTube thumbnail for their videos. The …
YouTube Is Adding AI-Powered Dubbing
YouTube is integrating the team from Aloud to help you dub your videos in other languages with the help of …
