VW to ditch 'pretentious' Winterkorn-era slogan Das Auto

Berlin

SCARRED by a public relations thrashing over its "Dieselgate" scandal, Volkswagen is planning an image offensive, and its "Das Auto" global advertising slogan is an early casualty.

Launched in 2007 under ousted boss Martin Winterkorn, the slogan has had the advantage of simplicity, merely meaning "The Car". However, the German carmaker's leaders, anxious to proclaim a reformed corporate culture, have criticised it as out of step with a company trying to show new-found humility.

A Volkswagen spokesman said it would no longer accompany the famous VW badge in the coming advertising campaign.

Its replacement is hardly radical. "Wherever our logo appears in future, it will be backed by the new brand slogan 'Volkswagen'," the spokesman said. VW has been largely on the defensive since US authorities revealed in September that it had admitted rigging exhaust emission tests on some diesel-powered models. For weeks, it volunteered little information ab…