Not that surprising. If they were planning on doing a surprise name change at the end of April, registering the trademark a month early would have spoiled the s

Not that surprising. If they were planning on doing a surprise name change at the end of April, registering the trademark a month early would have spoiled the surprise. Plus it wouldn't give any advantage. Voltswagen would be protected by their Volkswagen trademark, and trademarks don't even offer protection until you submit proof of you already using them in commerce. And you don't have to register trademarks to have common law protections in the US, and they aren't planning to use it in Germany.