The change from Volkswagen to Voltswagen is a “public declaration of the company’s future-forward investment in e-mobility”.
Automaker company Volkswagen AG (XETRA: VOW) is changing the name for its US operations to “Voltswagen.” The automaker accidentally leaked the new name for its US operations in a press release on the 29th of March. The announcement, which is dated April 29th, has since then, been pulled down from the company’s website. As stated in the release, Voltswagen of America will become a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG. The US operations will continue to be an operating unit of Volkswagen Group of America with headquarters in Herndon, Virginia.
The accidental press release showed that Volkswagen planned to announce “Volkswagen” in a month’s time. A reliable source, who is familiar with Volkswagen’s plans, confirmed the story to CNBC. The source also pleaded anonymity as Volkswagen did not intend to make the plan known to the public until the coming month.
Volkswagen to Become Voltswagen for US
According to the release, the change from Volkswagen to Voltswagen is a “public declaration of the company’s future-forward investment in e-mobility”. The announcement also stated that the name change should take effect as from May. Also, the exterior badges for all electric vehicle (EV) models will be the new name, Voltswagen, while gas vehicles will continue to have the “VW” sign.
Additionally. Volkswagen plans to preserve the company’s heritage by retaining the usual dark blue color for the VM emblem for vehicles. To differentiate gas-powered vehicles from EVs, the company said “the new, EV-centric branding” will have its logo in light blue.
Volkswagen plans to deliver over 450,000 EVs in 2021.
Before now, Volkswagen held a “Power Day” on the 15th of March to discuss the technology details of the company’s EVs. During the program, Volkswagen mentioned “technology roadmap for batteries and charging up to 2030.” The company also revealed plans to establish six gigafactories. According to Volkswagen, the gigafactories will be in Europe by the end of the current decade. The first gigafactory will be established at a Northvolt facility in Skelleftea. The second one will be located at Volkwagen’s Salzgitter site in Germany.
At the time, Volkswagen Group Board Member for Technology, Thomas Schmall, added the company intends to reduce the cost and complexity of its battery. The company aims to reduce the cost of battery to below €100. Schmall added that the reduction in cost is to come along with increasing the range and performance of the battery. He said:
“This will finally make e-mobility affordable and the dominant drive technology.”
Volkswagen (VOW) Stock
Volkswagen stock closed yesterday on Xetra at €286.00, with a 1.56% gain over its previous close of €281.60. At the time of writing, VOW stock is trading at €298 (+4.27%).
The company has been soaring over the past year except in the last five days. The company declined 11.12% in the last five days. MarketWatch data showed that Volkswagen has climbed 140.94% in the last one year and 68.14% in its year-to-date record. In the last three months, Volkswagen has advanced 67.64% and gained nearly 47% over the past month.
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