VW plans brand-name change to 'Voltswagen' in US

VW to change its name in US to ‘Voltswagen’ as it shifts towards electric vehicles and seeks to clean up its image after emissions cheating scandal

  • Volkswagen is set to introduce new ‘Voltswagen’ brand in US today 
  • Company briefly posted a press release on its website Monday announcing brand name change but removed it 
  • Brand change comes as VW is taking reservations for new ID.4 small electric SUV in the US 
  • Exterior badge with name ‘Voltswagen’ will be affixed to electric vehicles, while gas-powered vehicles will still have the normal ‘VW’
  • VW has been trying to repair its image after US authorities in 2015 discovered that its so-called ‘clean diesel’ vehicles cheated on emissions tests

Volkswagen plans to change its brand name in the United States to ‘Voltswagen’ as it shifts its production increasingly toward electric vehicles and tries to distance itself from an emissions cheating scandal.

A person briefed on the plan said a formal announcement is planned for later in the day on Tuesday. The person didn’t want to be identified because the plans had not been made public.

The company had briefly posted a press release on its website early Monday announcing the brand name change. The press release was noticed by a reporter from USA Today before it was removed. The release was dated April 29.

Volkswagen plans to change its brand name in the United States to ‘Voltswagen’ as it shifts its production increasingly toward electric vehicles. Pictured: In this February 25, 2020, photo, a worker completes an electric car ID.3 body at the assembly line  in Zwickau, eastern Germany

VW is taking reservations for the new ID.4 small electric SUV in the U.S.

The premature release comes as VW is taking reservations for the new ID.4 small electric SUV in the U.S. It’s the company’s only new electric model sold in the United States, though there are plans for more, including a nostalgic reprise of the company’s Microbus.

Even with the ID.4 fully on sale, only a small fraction of VWs on U.S. roads will bear the ‘Voltswagen’ name. The vast majority of VW’s vehicle sales in the US will still be powered by gasoline for the foreseeable future and will continue to be labeled simply as VW. The German automaker sold just under 326,000 VW-branded vehicles in the U.S. last year.

The person who was briefed on the plan said the name Volkswagen Group of America, which also includes the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini brands, won’t change. Rather, only the ‘k’ in the Volkswagen brand itself will be changed to a ‘t.’

An exterior badge with the name ‘Voltswagen’ will be affixed to the company’s electric vehicles, while gas-powered vehicles will still have the normal ‘VW,’ but no brand name on them, the person said.

The premature news release said the move amounted to a public declaration of the company’s future investment in electric mobility.

‘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,” VW of America CEO Scott Keogh said in the errant release.

Outside the United States, Volkswagen, like some other automakers, has sharply expanded its EV footprint. In Europe, the company tripled its battery-powered vehicle sales from 45,000 in 2019 to 134,000 in 2020. VW began selling its new electric compact ID.3 ahead of strict new European Union limits on auto emissions.

The company is planning to begin selling an electric version of its Microbus in the US 

In the US, fully electric vehicles last year accounted for less than 2 per cent of new vehicle sales. Tesla led the way, with an estimated 205,600 in U.S. sales, according to Autodata Corp. General Motors sold just under 21,000 Chevrolet Bolts, while Nissan sold a little more than 9,500 Leaf electric cars.

VW has been trying to repair its image after US authorities in 2015 discovered that its so-called ‘clean diesel’ vehicles cheated on emissions tests. The diesels switched pollution controls on during Environmental Protection Agency treadmill tests, then turned them off while on real roads.

Volkswagen in 2017 pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $4.3billion in US civil and criminal penalties on top of billions more to buy back cars. Two people were sent to prison.

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