MUMBAI: German automaker Volkswagen made a splash on social media when it announced Tuesday its US operations would be rechristened as "Voltswagen" . The rebranding move apparently was in lieu of its all-electric ID.4 SUV roll-out in the US earlier this month.
The American division of the automobile manufacturer put up a press release on its media site stating that Volkswagen Group of America “is unveiling the official change of its US brand name from Volkswagen of America to Voltswagen of America” to lean into its electric vehicle production plans.
Volkswagen of America president & CEO Scott Keogh was even quoted as saying, "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.”
The automaker also took to micro-blogging site Twitter to make the announcement public: “We know, 66 is an unusual age to change your name, but we’ve always been young at heart. Introducing Voltswagen. Similar to Volkswagen, but with a renewed focus on electric driving. Starting with our all-new, all-electric SUV the ID.4 – available today. #Voltswagen #ID4,” and even going so far as to update its Twitter profile name to "Voltswagen".
Expectedly, there were responses galore to the rebranding declaration!
A few were supportive of the change, saying, “Congratulations on this courageous decision, it takes some getting used to, but is suitable for the new e-mobility.” Conversely, there were many who felt it was a bad idea. One person pointed out: “So now it’s the “Volts’ Car” and not the “people’s car”? –a reference to the literal meaning of the brand name Volkswagen, which means the people’s car in German.
Some even exhorted the carmaker: “This is a bad idea… Don't lose your identity over electrification!”
Netizens even went to the extent of saying “Anyone who was involved in this decision should be fired immediately.” Another’s response was an accurate foreshadowing: “This best be #AprilFools. This is worse than #Dieselgate. Don’t do this!”
The #Dieselgate refers to the carmaker’s tryst with controversy in 2015 when Volkswagen’s emissions scandal broke out. Volkswagen had admitted to having installed emissions-cheating devices in its vehicles. This cost the company over $33 billion in vehicle refits and regulatory fines, mostly in the United States, and is infamously termed dieselgate.
Well as it turns out, it was an April fool’s prank!
The auto company admitted on Wednesday that the press release stating its rebranding as ‘Voltswagen’ was only a “pre-April fool’s day joke”. It confirmed the same to multiple media outlets and reporters, after the news of the name change broke on Tuesday and denied rebranding itself as ‘Voltswagen’ in the US market.
The gimmick garnered a great deal of press coverage for Volkswagen on Tuesday, and specifically for its ID.4 vehicles in the US. Many of the big outlets like CNN, NBC News and even The Washington Post fell for the prank.
Hoax news releases are commonplace on April fool's day, and in some cases even manage to make it into news coverage. However, Volkswagen managed to get some broad coverage for a sham news release, for it's essentially unheard of for April fool's day news releases, especially from large multinational corporations, to not actually come on April fool's day – and in fact coming two days early!
VW was trolled on social media platforms for misleading piece of news, with some commenters recalling the company's diesel emissions scandal and years of misleading customers and regulators.
Many were critical of the company’s capacity to joke over a sustainable future after its “dieselgate” hullabaloo. Some wondered that while the marketing ploy got the company publicity, “But is the company behind #Dieselgate making jokes about a sustainable future & their impact on the environment a great look? Will it help push EVs to a US audience?”
Well, the verdict is yet to come in on whether the “pre-April fool’s joke” backfired on the automaker or did it have its desired effect for the brand.
The company may just get to have the last laugh though. Apparently Volkswagen's move was well-received on Wall Street, as it also ramps up production of electric vehicles and the company's stock price soared almost nine per cent on Tuesday—far outpacing other large car companies.
However, there may still be a catch – the upsurge in its stock prices following the fake press release could potentially land Volkswagen in hot water with the US Securities Regulators.
