VW keeps its powder dry following Jaguar rebranding

VW Group Australia managing director Karsten Seifert has expressed his admiration for Jaguar’s bold (controversial) rebranding exercise, but confirmed VW will not be following suit.

When asked what he thought of Jaguar’s new image and strategic direction at the recent Australian ID.Buzz launch, Seifert chuckled and said he “liked really that that they went for a different approach and being creative”.

“I think everybody should approach it this way. So, I mean, every creativeness in the market is nice to see. A different approach, but for different reasons.

“I'm not sure if we would go for something like that kind of branding for the [Volkswagen] Group, or the brand. But that is Jaguar’s decision.”

Volkswagen’s ‘VW’ badge originated in the 1930s and was changed to a simpler roundel in 1945.

Since then, the branding has changed very little – the only alterations being the introduction of blue instead of black for its roundel in 1967, and in 2000, a 3D shape with light blue background.

In 2019, a flatter, thinner roundel with white lettering over a dark blue background was introduced.

Led by Volkswagen chief designer Klaus Bischoff, the new branding was designed to be a trademark that is easily displayed digitally on devices and applications and present as flat and two dimensional.

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