German carmaking company Volkswagen has published a press release a month early by accident on its website, thus revealing a new name for its US operations, Voltswagen of America, highlighting its electric vehicle efforts, CNBC reported Monday.
According to the report, the initial date when the release should have been published was set for April 29th. The statement was quickly removed from the website soon after.
The release reportedly said the name change will take effect in May and will be a "public declaration of the company’s future-forward investment in e-mobility." Voltswagen will be used as an exterior badge on all electric vehicle models, while gas vehicles will only have the company's famous VW logo.
The company reportedly decided to keep the dark blue color of the VW logo for gas-powered vehicles in order to "preserve elements of Volkswagen's heritage," and use light blue to distinguish "the new, EV-centric branding."
Voltswagen of America, with headquarters in Herndon, Virginia, will remain an operating entity of Volkswagen Group of America and a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, according to the report.
Earlier this month, the company held a "Power Day" to discuss its electric vehicle technologies. Volkswagen also stated that by the end of the decade, it intends to dramatically increase EV revenue.
By 2030, the company projects 70% of its Volkswagen brand's European sales will be electric vehicles, up from a previous estimate of 35%. By that time, it plans half of its sales in the United States and China to be electric vehicles as well.
Just days before the event, Volkswagen AG canceled plans to cooperate with South Korean battery suppliers.
Another major player in the market, General Motors, would not alter its name but did launch a new logo and ad campaign promoting electric vehicles earlier this year. As a reference to its Ultium battery cell platform, which will underpin its upcoming electric vehicles, the US automaker's new logo features its gm initials in lowercase letters with the "m" underlined, and the blue letters are contained inside a rounded blue case.