Messaging Says VW USA to Rebrand Itself Voltswagen -- Headquarters Says Not So Fast
31 March 2021 - 3:31AM
Dow Jones News
By William Boston
BERLIN -- A press release published on the website of Volkswagen
AG's U.S. subsidiary's Tuesday said the company will rebrand itself
as Voltswagen of America to emphasize its multibillion--dollar
drive to transform itself into the world's leading maker of
all-electric vehicles.
Or will it?
By midday on Tuesday at the German car maker's headquarters in
Wolfsburg, Germany, company officials were adamant that the press
release and name change were nothing more than a joke -- a spoof
marketing move to raise awareness about the company's first
all-electric sport utility vehicle, the ID.4, which went on sale in
the U.S. this month.
"It's a premature April Fool's joke. It's part of a marketing
campaign for the ID.4," said one of the people in Wolfsburg. "There
will be no name change."
The press release had first gone out briefly on VW's U.S.
media-relations website late on Monday before being taken down.
After it was reposted early on Tuesday, the news took a momentum of
its own despite the push-back from headquarters.
Shares in Volkswagen were up 3.6% by midday.
The press release quoted Scott Keogh as president and CEO of
Voltswagen of America 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."
On Tuesday, Mr. Keogh's Twitter account pushed the new name
again, following the press release with a message about the name
change.
By late afternoon in Europe, VW USA had yet to return a call for
comment.
Among old-school auto makers, VW has been a leader in developing
and launching new electric vehicles, aiming to switch to a largely
electric fleet within the decade. But not all the press has been
glowing, and executives at the company often complain that they
don't get enough credit for the company's transformation.
VW shocked consumers around the world six years ago when U.S.
authorities charged the company with rigging diesel-powered
vehicles to cheat on emissions tests. VW pleaded guilty to charges
of fraud, conspiracy and selling goods in the U.S. under false
pretenses. The dieselgate scandal has so far cost VW more than $35
billion in fines, compensation and legal fees.
With its reputation shattered, VW has since rebuilt itself into
a leader in making electric vehicles, investing tens of billions of
dollars to build a new generation of EVs as the company vies to
overtake Tesla Inc. as the biggest EV maker in the world.
The road to electric cars has been fraught with setbacks. The
new vehicles -- VW's ID.3 and ID.4, the e-tron built by its luxury
car maker Audi, and the Taycan made by its sports-car brand Porsche
-- have had to overcome obstacles and met with mixed reviews. The
ID.3, which wasn't released in the U.S., initially struggled with
software glitches.
The press release about changing the name of the U.S. business
comes as the company is eager to get U.S. consumers jazzed about
the ID.4, which went on sale in U.S. showrooms this month. The
vehicle is a competitor to Tesla's Model Y and has been praised
largely as very good, but still not quite a match for Tesla's
offering.
Earlier this month, VW released earnings for 2020, which showed
that the company had weathered the Covid-19 pandemic well. Despite
the pandemic, VW generated pretax profit of EUR12 billion,
equivalent to $14.07 billion, down about 36% from 2019, on sales of
EUR223 billion, down 12%. The company benefited strongly from
China's recovery, where VW generates more than 40% of its
sales.
Write to William Boston at william.boston@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 30, 2021 12:16 ET (16:16 GMT)
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