Volkswagen accidentally posted a press release on its website, announcing a new name for its American division, Voltswagen of America, a month ahead of schedule. The “Volt” in the name unambiguously underlines the German automaker’s efforts in the field of electric vehicles. But is it a good sign that the “people’s car” (literal translation of Volks wagen) has just become “electric”?

Electric van Volkswagen ID Buzz

A company spokesman declined to comment on the press release, which was dated April 29th and has already disappeared from the company’s website. An anonymous informant of the CNBC resource, familiarized with the company’s plans, confirmed the authenticity of the announcement to CNBC.

The press release said the name change “is expected to take effect in May,” with the company emphasizing that the new name is “a public declaration of the company’s future investment in electric vehicles“. The Voltswagen brand, judging by the announcement, will flaunt as the external badge on all future electric cars of the company, while conventional fossil fuel vehicles will only bear the iconic VW emblem.

To preserve elements of Volkswagen’s legacy, according to a deleted announcement, the company plans to retain the dark blue color of the VW logo for ICE vehicles and use light blue to distinguish the new EV-focused brand. Voltswagen of America will remain a division of the Volkswagen Group of America and a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.

By the way, VW’s press release was incomplete, it mentioned the need to add a quote and a photo from the automaker’s plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Volkswagen recently announced its goal of significantly increasing its electric vehicle sales by the end of the decade. The company expects that by 2030 more than 70% of European sales under its brand will be electric cars (previously the target was to reach 35%). In the US and China, the company expects electric vehicles to account for half of its sales by that time.