After a public diesel emissions scandal where the German brand was found cheating, Volkswagen is now planning to give up on its famous slogan “Das Auto” in an attempt to rebuild its image to its fans and to potential new buyers.
The soon to be former slogan was launched back in 2007 when the head of VW was Martin Winterkorn, and it was catchy enough due to its simplicity, as the English translation for the carmaker’s slogan is “The Car”. The Volkswagen’s leaders are now looking for better words to promote the German cars as their main goal is to be humble in front of their customers.
A spokesman for Volkswagen said that while the slogan will no longer be present next to the carmaker’s badge, it will not see a complete termination yet. “Wherever our logo appears in future, it will be backed by the new brand slogan ‘Volkswagen’. The slogan will be rolled out in stages across the world.”
The new public relations campaign was debated last week in a private meeting attended by 2,000 group managers, and the main focus was the brand rebuilding its reputation after a major decrease in sales in markets like the United States and U.K. following massive costs in recalling, regulatory fines and numerous lawsuits. One of the managers present at the meeting explained that the brand’s slogan was regal and pretentious, adding that a new one needs to better portray VW’s technological attempts in areas like electric vehicles manufacturing.
The German carmaker has had a difficult year since back in September the U.S. authorities revealed that Volkswagen rigged exhaust emissions tests in some of its diesel models, not only in the U.S., but also in Europe.