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Vauxhall Motors launches new "confidently British" logo design

Vauxhall launches new "confidently British" flat logo

British carmaker Vauxhall has revealed a flat, minimal version of its griffin emblem to replace its three-dimensional logo that had a metallic look.

Opting for a "cleaner" and more modern design, the new logo sees the griffin's wing, which previously swooped around from the right side of the bird, removed entirely.

Alongside the griffin the flag held by the animal has been simplified down to a skewed square on the left of the emblem, which has the letter V inside.

Vauxhall Motors redesigned logo in a bid to better suit it to digital applications. This included getting rid of its raised, chrome-style aesthetic that had been in place since 2008 and instead creating a simple, two-dimensional design.

Vauxhall Motors launches new "confidently British" logo design
Top: Vauxhall's new logo. Above: the evolution of the logo

The British automaker coloured the new logo in its characteristic bright red hue.

This is complemented by a deep blue shade for the word Vauxhall, which is emblazoned underneath the logo – a colour pairing that, according to the company, "underlines Vauxhall Motors' heritage as a British brand since 1903".

"The bold yet simple redesigns reinforce Vauxhall's position as a confidently British brand," said Vauxhall Motors' managing director Stephen Norman.

"Constantly evolving and innovating, the brand continues to reinvent itself, with these most recent updates a reflection of Vauxhall's commitment to ingenious design and modernisation."

"While retaining its most iconic elements, the contemporary, minimal aesthetic had been created to seamlessly match our forthcoming models," added Norman.

Vauxhall was founded in the Vauxhall area of London as Alex Wilson and Company in 1857, before being renamed Vauxhall Iron Works in 1897, which used the griffin as its emblem as it was used on the local land owner's coat of arms.

In 1903 the company built its first car and became Vauxhall Motors in 1907. It was purchased by General Motors in 1925 and sold to French car manufacturer Groupe PSA, which owns Peugeot and Citroën, in 2017.

The redesigned logo will make its physical debut on the new Vauxhall Mokka car, which is set for release in 2021.

Vauxhall joins a series of car brands that have also recently switched from 3D to flat designs of their logos. This includes Volkswagen, which got rid of its chrome-effect logo last year, as well as BMW, which create a two-dimensional logo as part of its first rebrand in two decades.

Rolls-Royce also recently enlisted Pentagram to update its visual identity, redesigning the iconic Spirit of Ecstasy emblem to become the luxury car brand's main symbol.

Other car brands opting for flat designs to better suit a digitally-driven world are MINI, Nissan and Toyota.