At the end of last March, the press went into a panic. In the USA, Volkswagen becomes Voltswagen in order to support its energy transition. On March 29, the German manufacturer “accidentally” published a press release on its website before removing it, but it was not lost on CNBC, which was quick to relay the news.
On March 30, the information is confirmed, Volkswagen changes its logos on its social networks and publishes a very official press release with the declaration and the complicity of Scott Keogh, president and CEO of Voltswagen of America. At that time, there was no doubt, “Volkswagen of America” was on its way to becoming “Voltswagen of America”.
A few hours later, seeing that the information had circulated widely and that it was admitted by the press, Volkswagen announced via a spokesperson that it was just a farce that the manufacturer had put together from scratch. “It was a joke for April 1st”, the spokesperson told AFP.
What was just an April Fool’s Day had repercussions. This is why the SEC, or the financial markets authority, opened an investigation and asked Volkswagen Group of America to provide it with information to determine whether or not this bad joke influenced its stock price. The American subsidiary of the German manufacturer has agreed to collaborate with the Security and Exchange Commission, although it would surely have preferred to do without.
The press accuses Volkswagen of having misled him. The manufacturer should have communicated better. For example, it would have been preferable to make the announcement on April 1, on that date, no media would have taken this name change seriously: why make the announcement a few days earlier?
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