The name game: how big brands name their new models

The rise of model names based on invented words or adapted versions of existing ones is due to the dearth of real words that remain viable for use. 

“In the mid-1990s, we hit peak trademark availability in terms of using real words,” says Pyrah. “Most real, emotional, fun, obvious words have gone. It has become harder to find natural-sounding words.” 

The industry has adapted, but conventions run through market segments. Letters such as Q and K often denote ruggedness in the SUV sector (think Nissan Qashqai and Karoq), whereas E and I are common signifiers of electric and hybrid cars, which tend to have scientific- sounding names (Hyundai Ioniq or Volt). “It only takes one company to stick its neck out in a particular style of vehicle and then everyone else starts doing it,” says Pyrah. “Nearly all SUVs have technical-sounding names. Graphically challenging letters like K and Q have become a convention. Also, changing the name [in this way] makes the word easier to trademark.” 

As well as ensuring that the name is more emotionally resonant than one that a computer might generate, a brand expert will also ensure that the name works as well in Beijing as it does in Bayswater. In the past, there have been names that just haven’t translated well from one language or alphabet to another. 

“You become aware of what works and what doesn’t,” says Pyrah. “For example, in the past we’ve looked at a name with a variation of ‘curve’ in it, but in some languages that is close to the word that means ‘prostitute’, so it just doesn’t work.” 

And what of the future? With the trend towards ride sharing and autonomous vehicles, will people care what kind of vehicle they are in? “You’ll still interface with a brand, it is just a question of which one it is,” says Pyrah. “It could be the ride- sharing brand. This is probably why we’re seeing car firms inventing their own mobility companies, as VW has done with Moia. It wants to own that intermediary level.” 

Pyrah admired Kia’s approach of putting disruptive punctuation into the middle of Pro_cee’d and Cee’d, even though the awkward convention was largely ignored and appears to have been dropped: “You’re always trying to do something different. With the likes of Kia, it is to some extent what their master brand gives them licence to – it is being different, because how else does Kia look to capture market share? It does so by being the cheeky, quirky brand and daring to do what its rivals won’t.” 

How reductive can car companies dare to be as they seek to differentiate their products? Pyrah says he has toyed with ideas based on symbols such as the equals sign and even a Morse code-style dot-dash – names that would make that staple dinner party conversation about which car you drive rather interesting... 

How to create a new car name: 

BREAK CONVENTION

RP: “Vauxhall [until recently] had models that ended in ‘A’, such as Meriva, Mokka, Vectra and Insignia. The Adam was [an attempt] to launch a car that for Vauxhall was quite different, to capture the market niche that Fiat 500 and others were owning. The name was a signal that it was trying something different.”

INVENT A WORD

RP: “I really like Verso as a name. Toyota has been quite good at stretching naming styles without breaking its conventions. Verso isn’t a real word, but it is close enough and it has enough meaning – it sounds versatile – so Toyota has been quite clever.”

GET TECHNICAL

RP: “The Quattro is a name from the past that I love and that really resonates, but it also helped Audi to elevate itself from the middle market. The name was different – it says ‘four’, stands for power and speed, and just sounds dynamic. It did wonders for the brand.”