Volkswagen will unveil a redesigned logo as part of a major rebranding at this year’s Frankfurt motor show, coinciding with the launch of the new ID 3 electric hatchback.
Called New Volkswagen, it has been developed to make the brand appear “significantly younger, more digital and more modern”. It has been in development for more than three years and has its roots in the changes the firm has made following the Dieselgate emissions cheating scandal.
The rebranding will coincide with the launch of the ID 3, the first production vehicle based on the Volkswagen Group’s fully electric MEB platform. But the first vehicle to go on sale bearing the new logo will be the eighth-generation Golf, which is due to be launched later this year before going on sale in early 2020.
Volkswagen’s current logo has been in use since 2010. The new one maintains the letters V and W in a circle but is a simpler, two-dimensional design, with the letters no longer touching. It will be presented on cars in gloss white on a black background, although this can be changed; future GTI models will feature a red version of the logo. It was developed entirely in-house by the firm.
Volkswagen marketing boss Jochen Sengpiehl said that the current ‘3D’ logo had “become a bit heavy, somewhat immobile, especially in today’s digital era”. He added: “The new logo has been reduced to its essential components. It’s flat, open, full of contrast and clearly perceived. The new logo is not just a logo but an icon.”
Sengpiehl added that a particular focus had been placed on how the logo would appear in digital form.
The rebranding will also include a new typeface and the addition of light blue alongside white and dark blue as Volkswagen’s official brand colours.