At first, it was hard to believe but because it was not April 1st, it did not occur to anyone that this might be a joke that car companies have been known to make on the day. Furthermore, it was a German company and surely the Germans do not have that sort of humorous behaviour – especially when it comes to a company name that has been in use for over 80 years and is very recognizable throughout the world? The logo can change with the times, and it did last year, but the name is something sacred.
But in the absence of any clarification, the name ‘Voltswagen’ as a replacement for ‘Volkswagen’ was widely believed and reported by the media. The reason given was to amplify the change to a new era of electrification for the company with the introduction of the ID.4 all-electric SUV. It was ‘a public declaration of the company’s future-forward investment in e-mobility’, according to the statement issued. The ‘partial’ release (which was at first thought to have been accidentally posted on the media website) said that the new name would come into use from May this year.
To make it more credible, an image of the ‘VOLTSWAGEN’ badge on a car was also shown while also suggesting that the models with combustion engines would continue to use the ‘VOLKSWAGEN’ brand name, which in German means ‘People’s Car’.
It was an exercise by the US subsidiary of Volkswagen and perhaps the bosses in Germany did not find it amusing as a statement came from Wolfsburg yesterday to clarify that it was indeed an early April Fools’ Day joke. The company had planned to ‘correct’ the matter by today (Wednesday), but things may have become too serious and before getting out of hand, a new statement issued confirmed that there will be no change of name. The fake press release has also been deleted so that a former US President won’t be able to use it to further attack the ‘fake media’ he hates.
The new ID.4 to be launched in the US market in the US is the first of a family of all-electric models to come from Voltswagen… sorry, Volkswagen. By 2025, the company expects to sell a million all-electric vehicles worldwide and by the end of this decade, the group line-up (which includes Audi, Skoda, Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti) will have over 70 zero-emission models.
Visit www.volkswagen.com.my to know more about Volkswagen products and services available in Malaysia.
