What does VW think?
According to a brief press release, Volkswagen of America will be Voltswagen of America in April. This document has been removed by the company.
The timing of the announcement was obvious. It was assumed that the automaker was making an April Fool’s joke to promote its EVs. Automotive News was told by an unnamed “person familiar” with the plans of the company that this wasn’t a joke.
These anonymous statements aside, there are good reasons to be skeptical about Volkswagen changing its name from Volkswagen to Voltswagen over a prolonged period. Searches of the US Patent and Trademark Office and World Intellectual Property Organization revealed no trademarks for “Voltswagen”.
Rebrandings can be costly. Each reference to the company must be updated, online and in any other documents used by dealers to sell vehicles. All that work is worth it if you just need to change one letter in your name.
There are still many VW vehicles that don’t have electrification in the US. Although there are many EVs in development, the ID.4 is the only currently available EV. Ralf Brandstatter, VW CEO, recently stated that the automaker will “still need combustion engines” and suggested the Tiguan, Passat and T-Roc would be the core of the ICE models. When so many of the products aren’t EVs, it seems premature to rebrand Voltswagen.
This announcement could mean that it is a temporary one and not a permanent one. This has been done before. To mark the launch, fifth-gen Golf, Wolfsburg was briefly renamed Golfsburg in 2003.