New York (CNN Business) Volkswagen of America says its "Voltswagen" name change was merely a joke "in the spirit of April Fools' Day" to promote a new electric car. Volkswagen later backtracked and said it's definitely not changing its name and that the whole thing was an April Fools'-inspired marketing ploy. On Tuesday, following the name change statement, Volkswagen's ADR stock briefly jumped almost 10%, before closing nearly flat (the company's shares have, however, been trending steadily upward in recent months). For its part, Volkswagen of America said it "cannot see any influence on the stock market price as a result of the advertising campaign." "This was not and is not the aim of the campaign," Volkswagen of America said in a Wednesday statement to CNN Business.

Source: CNN March 31, 2021 23:37 UTC