Volkswagen says name change was a prank

After media reported on a leaked press release from Volkswagen that said it planned to change the name of its U.S. business, the company said the release was an early April Fools joke.

CNBC’s Michael Wayland reported:

German automaker Volkswagen will not be changing the name of its U.S. operations to Voltswagen of America after all.

The news, which appeared to leak out on its U.S. media site Monday and was formally announced in a press release Tuesday, was part of an elaborate April Fools’ Day joke, the company confirmed in a statement later Tuesday.

William Boston from The Wall Street Journal wrote:

The name change, which immediately lit up social media and online news sites, was originally intended as an early April Fools’ Day stunt to get people talking about VW’s ambitious electric car strategy as the company rolls out its first all-electric sport-utility vehicle, the ID. 4, in U.S. dealerships, the spokesman said.

The problem for VW is that everyone took it seriously, creating confusion about the company’s intentions and moving the shares, putting VW’s communications team on the defensive.

William Boston from The Wall Street Journal wrote:

The name change, which immediately lit up social media and online news sites, was originally intended as an early April Fools’ Day stunt to get people talking about VW’s ambitious electric car strategy as the company rolls out its first all-electric sport-utility vehicle, the ID. 4, in U.S. dealerships, the spokesman said.

The problem for VW is that everyone took it seriously, creating confusion about the company’s intentions and moving the shares, putting VW’s communications team on the defensive.

CNN’s Peter Valdes-Dapena noted:

The debacle began Monday with what seemed to be a shocking goof — pun absolutely intended — when Volkswagen of America briefly posted an unfinished press release announcing a plan to change its name to Voltswagen.

Volt as in… electricity. Get it? Because Volkswagen (VLKAF) is selling electric vehicles now.

This coming Thursday being April 1, a.k.a. April Fools’ Day, it was initially unclear if this was a premature release of a real plan or just a premature release of a moderately funny gag. Fake press releases are a staple of the unofficial holiday, and car companies often get into the game with releases touting things like the Mini Yachtsman, a 2012 gag by BMW’s Mini Cooper in which the company announced it was making an amphibious car. (Of course, it wasn’t.)