A Volkswagen ID.4.
Ronny Hartmann / AFP via Getty ImagesAfter Volkswagen published two press releases that said the company would change the name of its U.S. operations to Voltswagen, company officials have told The Wall Street Journal that the name change was a “premature April Fool’s joke.” Either way, the message to investors is the same: Electric vehicles are here to stay.
On Monday, the U.S. arm of Volkswagen (ticker: VOW) published a press release that said its name was changing to Voltswagen. The release, dated March 29, has since disappeared. Volkswagen’s U.S. operations published a similar release on Tuesday, dated March 30, with the title “Voltswagen: A new name for a new era of e-Mobility.” The release stated the name is “is a public declaration of the company’s future-forward investment in e-mobility.”
German officials said the name change is a joke, according to a Journal report published Tuesday afternoon. “It’s part of a marketing campaign for the ID.4. There will be no name change.”
Volkswagen’s German and U.S. operations didn’t return a request from Barron’s about the name change.
April Fool’s joke or not, Volkswagen has always had some of the most aggressive electric-vehicle goals for any traditional auto maker. Recently, the company outlined a new goal to have 50% of its sales come from all electric vehicles by 2030. The new goal is an acceleration of prior comments made by management.
“VW is not playing around,” wrote Wedbush analyst Dan Ives in a Tuesday research report. He added: “VW is the most likely EV partner for Apple as Cupertino goes through the EV dating game and likely picks its strategic EV partner by the summer timeframe for the Apple Car.”
Apple did not immediately return Barron’s request for comment.
Speculation about an all-electric, autonomous Apple (AAPL) vehicle picked up late this past year. Wall Street believes Apple won’t build manufacturing plants and will have an existing auto maker assemble its vehicle.
Volkswagen’s corporate commitment to electric vehicles as well as self-driving cars has big implications for the entire auto business. It is the world’s largest auto maker by unit volume and spends billions each year on capital investment and tooling. Any auto maker has to pay attention to what Volkswagen is doing.
Volkswagen ADRs closed up 10.3%. Tesla stock ended the day less than 1% higher. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were both down less than 1%.
Volkswagen shares have caught fire recently. The stock is up more than 85% year to date. Investors are pleased with the pivot toward electric vehicles, regardless of how the change is communicated to the marketplace.
Write to editors@barrons.com
March 31, 2021 at 03:58AM
https://ift.tt/39rOqIH
Voltswagen Was a Joke? Either Way, the Message Is Clear. - Barron's
https://ift.tt/2BsGM2G
Joke
No comments:
Post a Comment