Volkswagen ("VW" to most of us) has changed its name to Voltswagen in the US – or pretended to, at least. In a pre-April fool's gag come PR stunt, Volkswagen announced it is now Voltswagen of America, to signify the brand's move to fully electric vehicles in the near future ... then retracted the statement, saying it was a joke.
Coming in the wake of the "dieselgate" negativity the brand has suffered, the fake news story turns out to be a PR nudge for the company's planned rollout of 70 electric vehicle models by 2029.
We, along with many other media outlets, fell for the ruse, though at the time we were scratching our heads as to why the company would choose to mess with such an established brand.
Ed's note: This story was updated and the headline changed after VW confirmed the name change on the company's US website was just a marketing stunt to highlight the automaker's move towards electric vehicles.