An announcement from Volkswagen on Tuesday that the German automaker was “rebranding” and changing its name to “Voltswagen” was an April Fools’ Day prank, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal and CNBC.
According to sources cited by the news outlets, the announcement was nothing more than a joke — part of a marketing campaign to highlight the company’s new all-electric ID.4 vehicle.
“It’s a premature April Fools’ joke. It’s part of a marketing campaign for the ID.4. There will be no name change,” an official at the carmaker’s German headquarters told the Journal.
The company is expected to release an announcement by Wednesday to explain the marketing strategy behind the prank, CNBC reported.
The confusion began on Monday when USA Today reported that Volkswagen had accidentally announced the company’s rebranding, posting a press release introducing the name change before quickly removing it.
In the release, the company said the rebranding was “more than a name change.”
The press release was posted again Tuesday, but this time it remained online.
“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,” Volkswagen President and CEO Scott Keogh said in the statement.
Representatives from Volkswagen could not be reached for comment.