VW skyscraper in Wolfsburg
The old logo on the administration building will soon be history.
Wolfsburg The old logo still adorns this VolkswagenHigh-rise building on the Wolfsburg Mittelland Canal. In blue and gray, with a weight of 7.5 tonnes and a diameter of eight meters, it stands as a welcome to the approximately 70-meter-high building. After the renovation and renovation of the brand high-rise building, the logo had only been re-installed on the roof in 2016.
Now is the next change on the program, not for structural or architectural reasons, but for fundamental considerations. Volkswagen there is a new logo. The last introduced in 2007 blue-white-gray brand symbol should disappear completely and be replaced by a new variant. In a few days workers will move in Wolfsburg and dismantle the logo on the administration building.
To the diesel scandal and the associated image loss should the badge symbolize a new Volkswagen Group, A company that no longer cheats its customers and instead wants to take them seriously today. A corporation that no longer relies on PS at all costs, but wants to make itself strong for the environment.
Therefore, the new brand appearance is also very important with the entry of the VW Group connected to electromobility, The new logo will adorn the vehicles of the first true electric generation, most notably the ID.3, the electric counterpart to the Golf. The car will be presented at the IAA in Frankfurt in three weeks – and then workers in Wolfsburg will start to exchange ideas.
“Volkswagen is undergoing the most massive change in its history,” said VW Sales Director Jürgen Stackmann on Thursday at a press conference in Wolfsburg. The new electric fleet and the new brand identity including the company logo would have a significant share in this.
Volkswagen wants to become the world market leader in electromobility by 2025. In the middle of the next decade, one million electric vehicles are to be sold annually, according to the VW plans.
More than 20 different new E models plans the Wolfsburg car manufacturer in this period. At the same time, the entire production is to be changed so that the company produces its cars by 2050 at the latest completely carbon dioxide-free. This new environmental awareness is to make the diesel affair finally forgotten.
At the beginning of the 2030s, the last new internal combustion engine from Volkswagen is expected to hit the market, which will be sold around 2040. Assuming a lifespan of about ten years, the last burner around the year 2050 should disappear from the road. The VW Group dares so far ahead in the industry. “It’s a risky bet,” says Stefan Bratzel, a professor at the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch Gladbach.
This includes the new brand image. With the entry into the electromobility Volkswagen would have to realign the brand, emphasized marketing director Stackmann. At the center of this changed brand image is the new logo. It will be completely visible at the IAA with the presentation of the first electric vehicle. Certain features, however, were already presented during the press conference in Wolfsburg.
The new logo should be simpler and easier than the predecessor currently used. The previous VW logo was created in three dimensions, the new is used only two-dimensional. The overall appearance looks slimmer, younger and more modern.
70,000 logos must be exchanged
“Every logo has its time,” said marketing director Jochen Sengpiehl. Volkswagen is now facing the biggest brand renewal ever in the world. Volkswagen is represented in a total of 171 countries, where the brand logos must now be gradually replaced. At the exact cost Volkswagen made no statements. The annual worldwide marketing budget of the Wolfsburg car manufacturer goes into the billions.
Around the world, around 10,000 VW dealers need to exchange 70,000 logos. Volkswagen also takes some time for the entire changeover. As soon as the start of the IAA in September, the European dealers will get the new logo. China will then follow in October, North and South America will not come until the new year. “The changeover should be completed by the middle of next year,” added Sengpiehl.
Volkswagen is optimistic that the new brand image will contribute to an image change. “And with that we want to earn the recognition of the company again,” emphasized Ralf Brandstätter, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Volkswagen brand, directly related to the diesel scandal.
CEO Herbert dies had admitted a few weeks ago that the diesel affair for Volkswagen is still not over nearly four years after it began. The reputation of the car company is still in the basement.
“The loss of confidence, especially in the VW brand is great. Audi is still in crisis mode. Porsche has taken the diesel out of the program. Our share of diesel in Europe is falling – with considerable challenges for supply chains, “said the Volkswagen CEO at an internal management event in Wolfsburg.
So far, VW has covered € 30 billion to tackle the diesel affair. Billions of euros had to be spent to put the rigged diesel vehicles back in order. In the United States, the diesel for Volkswagen no longer plays a role today. The VW Group has given up there after the diesel affair, the original objective to establish the diesel engine parallel to the gasoline engine as a recognized drive variant.
As a result, Europe has remained the only important sales market for diesel worldwide. But the emissions scandal was accompanied by a loss of reputation and significance. Impending driving bans in the cities did the rest. In the sale of new cars, the diesel currently comes to a share of about one-third, even at Volkswagen. Before the exhaust gas affair became known, the proportion was just under half.