Volkswagen unveiled their new logo last
September and it has arrived in America as it’s prominently featured on the
2020 Atlas Cross Sport. The U.S. launch is part of a massive effort the company
has described as one of the “largest rebranding campaigns in the world.”
Volkswagen isn’t kidding as they’ll have
to change more than 70,000 logos globally. This won’t happen overnight, but
they expect to rebrand 10,000 dealers in 154 countries by the middle of this
year. The company hasn’t said how much the rebranding effort will cost, but
Volkswagen is pretty excited about the change as they described the new design
as a “refreshed, minimalist take on the classic logo.”
The redesign effort was lead by chief
designer Klaus Bischoff who said “My personal drive in this redesign was to
make the W float, bringing a new lightness to the Volkswagen brand.” He added,
the new logo “brings Volkswagen into the digital era, transforming our classic
logo into a trademark that is easily displayed digitally on devices and
applications.”
Speaking of the latter, Volkswagen paid
attention to ensure the logo works well on small displays such as smartphones
and smart watches. Of course, this was a massive effort as the company has
previously said the redesign involved 19 internal teams and 17 external
agencies.
Getting back to the Atlas Cross Sport, the
model starts at US$ 30,545 which makes it US$ 1,000 cheaper than the seven-seat
Atlas. Two engines are available including a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder
that develops 235 hp and 349 Nm of torque.
Customers can also opt for a 3.6-liter VR6 engine which produces 276 hp and 360 Nm of torque.
Regardless of which engine is selected,
all models come equipped with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Front-wheel drive is standard, but a 4Motion all-wheel drive system is also
available.
