UPDATE: So, apparently the Volkswagen-Voltswagen name change was an April Fool's joke. As the Wall Street Journal Wall Street Journal reports, the company's marketing team accidentally published a draft press release with the "Voltswagen" news this week, but failed to remove it before it was picked up and widely reported. “We didn’t mean to mislead anyone,” a Volkswagen spokesman tells the Journal. “The whole thing is just a marketing action to get people talking about the ID.4.”
Original Story:It’s not an early April Fools’ joke: Volkswagen is rebranding its US subsidiary as Voltswagen.
The German automaker announced the rebranding on Tuesday after the company accidentally posted a press release about the name change the day before.
As you can guess, the move is all about the company’s focus on building electric-powered vehicles as more automakers move away from fossil-fuel technology. "By definition, Volts are the derived units for electric potential between two points," the new Voltswagen said in Tuesday’s announcement. "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."
Love it or hate it, the rebranding will officially roll out in May, though the company’s VW.com website is already displaying the Voltswagen name.
The rebranding also coincides with the arrival of the ID.4, the company’s first long-range, electric-powered SUV, which is now available at dealerships across the US, starting at $39,995. The company’s goal is to sell one million electric vehicles by 2025, and launch more than 70 electric car models by 2029.
One of the rumored upcoming models is codenamed “Small BEV,” and it’s being designed to reportedly cost between $24,000 and $30,000.
“We have said, from the beginning of our shift to an electric future, that we will build EVs for the millions, not just millionaires,” said Scott Keogh, CEO of Voltswagen of America. "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."