Volkswagen US name-change: An April Fool joke gone wrong

VW may have gone too far in its effort to gin up buzz for its electrification push and the electric ID.4 crossover, which is just arriving in US showrooms. 

Volkswagen of America’s purported name change to “Voltswagen” was an April Fool’s joke gone bad.

On Monday, the carmaker briefly posted, then removed, a draft press release on its website supposedly announcing it was changing its name to promote electric vehicles.

VW then put out a media release, on Tuesday, pledging to rebrand itself “Voltswagen” in the US as “a public declaration of the company’s future-forward investment in e-mobility.” Now, the company has fessed up.

“The renaming was designed to be an announcement in the spirit of April Fool’s Day,” VW said after removing the earlier release from its US media site.

“We will provide additional updates on this matter soon.” Earlier, a VW spokesperson at the German manufacturer’s headquarters in Wolfsburg called it “an interesting idea” from the marketing department.

VW may have gone too far in its effort to gin up buzz for its electrification push and the electric ID.4 crossover, which is just arriving in US showrooms. 

Chief executive Herbert Diess has taken on a more active role in getting the message out that the company can challenge Tesla as an electric leader and distance itself from a disastrous diesel-emissions scandal.

VW vowed to tighten internal marketing controls but stopped short of removing executives and severing ties with agencies.

Those stakes are too high to joke about, said Tom Morton, chief strategy officer for the US at advertising firm R/GA in New York.

“This is the most pressing challenge of the auto industry: ‘Can you go electric?’” Mr Morton said. 

“Choosing to joke about it undermines their commitment.” 

VW has become a stock-market darling of late with its rapid-fire electric vehicle announcements. Its common stock has soared about 80% this year, giving the company a market value of roughly €140bn.

The shares fell as much as 3.2% in early trading today.

It’s the second major marketing gaffe for VW recently. The company caused an uproar last year with a video clip that showed a black man being controlled by a giant white hand.

The clip produced by Omnicom’s Berlin-based subsidiary Voltage sparked widespread criticism and tensions within the company. 

The carmaker’s powerful labor representatives called it a “low point” and demanded an overhaul of social-media marketing.

VW vowed to tighten internal marketing controls but stopped short of removing executives and severing ties with agencies.

- Bloomberg