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.
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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.