Volkswagen will change the name of its North American unit from “Volkswagen of America” to “Voltswagen in America,” CNBC reported Monday.
It may look like a typo, but VW accidentally posted an incomplete press release announcing the name change to its website early Monday morning, according to CNBC. The release was dated April 29 and has since been taken down, the report said. A VW source familiar with the situation confirmed to Motor Authority that the information was leaked too early.
While the timing of the press release also suggests a premature April Fool’s Day joke, CNBC reported that the name change is meant to emphasize VW’s shift toward electric vehicles.
2021 Volkswagen ID.4
The release, which was incomplete, citing the need for an additional quote and photography, also discussed new badging for VW vehicles, according to CNBC. Electric cars will get a “Voltswagen” exterior badge, while gasoline models will have the existing VW badge (which was recently redesigned itself) only. The badge will continue to have a dark blue badge for gasoline models, and a lighter blue for EVs, the report said.
VW’s United States EV push recently kicked off with the ID.4 crossover, one of several planned global models based on the automaker’s MEB platform. Instead of targeting other electric cars, VW claims to the ID.4 will compete with mainstream gasoline crossovers like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. The first U.S.-market vehicles will be imported from Germany, but VW plans to start local production at its Chattanooga, Tennessee, factory in 2022.
That’s part of a larger plan to build 28 million EVs by 2028, encompassing 70 distinct models across VW’s many global brands. In addition to affordable MEB-based models, the lineup already includes luxury models like the Audi E-Tron GT and Porsche Taycan, with a Bentley EV on the way. By the end of the decade, VW plans to have a standardized platform for most electric models, and solid-state batteries that the company believes will allow greater range and quicker charging.