BERLIN—A press release published on the website of Volkswagen AG’s U.S. subsidiary’s Tuesday said the company will rebrand itself as Voltswagen of America to emphasize its multibillion–dollar drive to transform itself into the world’s leading maker of all-electric vehicles.
Or will it?
By midday on Tuesday at the German car maker’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, company officials were adamant that the press release and name change were nothing more than a joke—a spoof marketing move to raise awareness about the company’s first all-electric sport utility vehicle, the ID.4, which went on sale in the U.S. this month.
“It’s a premature April Fool’s joke. It’s part of a marketing campaign for the ID.4,” said one of the people in Wolfsburg. “There will be no name change.”
