Yahoo Autos VW trademarks electric versions of classic model names, including the Beetle
A few weeks ago, the folks at electric VW forum VW ID Talk discovered that the German automaker trademarked the name "e-Samba" with the European Union Intellectual Property office. That same forum has now found a few other names based on classic Volkswagens. Each of the names follow the same pattern as e-Samba, adding a lowercase "e" prefix to a classic car name. Most intriguing is that one of the trademarked names is "e-Beetle."
It would be easy to jump to conclusions that VW is planning a line of vintage vehicle revivals that are electric, but there are many reasons automakers trademark names. Sometimes it's just to reserve a name in the off chance it decides to use one. It could be to prevent another company from obtaining it for their own product or to sell it back to VW for a profit. Obviously it could also be for a new car altogether, one that could be a nice complement to the upcoming ID.Buzz, possibly called e-Samba. Though another possibility is that VW is planning a line of electric powertrains to be sold for conversions to vintage cars. After all, the company previously showed an electric Beetle conversion called e-Beetle or "e-Kafer" for the German name (pictured above).
