FRANKFURT — The Volkswagen brand's multibillion-dollar electric makeover began at the Frankfurt auto show last week not with a roar but with a new five-note signature sound and a soothing female voice softly invoking the German brand's name.
The new piece of electronic sound will be part of each of the millions of new battery electric vehicles Volkswagen intends to build and sell globally, part of its $50 billion global onslaught into electric vehicles.
The sound, and a more simplified brand logo that also debuted last week, will adorn each coming battery electric vehicle: from the Golf-sized ID3 hatchback that premiered in Germany last week to the electric compact crossover that will go on sale in Europe and the United States next year. A source with knowledge of the company's plans told Automotive News last week that the crossover will be called the ID4.