Volkswagen accidentally posted a press release on its website Monday announcing the new name of its US operations a month early.
According to the release, dated April 29, the new name for the US division is Voltswagen of America, a pun meant to emphasize the German automaker’s electric vehicle efforts.
A rep for the company did not return requests for comment. The authenticity of the release was confirmed by a CNBC, citing a Volkswagen insider.
The release called the change a “public declaration of the company’s future-forward investment in e-mobility,” CNBC said. The document said Voltswagen will be placed as an exterior badge on all EV [electric vehicle] models with gas vehicles having the company’s iconic VW emblem only.
The document noted that the company would retain the dark blue color of the VW logo for gas-powered vehicles to “preserve elements of Volkswagen’s heritage,” while electric vehicles would use a light-blue branding as a point of differentiation.
Voltswagen of America will remain an operating unit of Volkswagen Group of America and a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, with headquarters in Herndon, Virginia.
Volkswagen has been making a strong push into the electric car space. Earlier this month, the automaker held a “Power Day” to discuss its EV technologies.
The company also announced goals of significantly increasing sales of EVs through the end of the decade, noting that it expects more than 70 percent of its Volkswagen brand’s European sales to be EV’s by 2030. That’s a massive increase from its previous target of 35 percent. In the US and China, the company expects half of its sales to be EVs by that timeframe.