The recent Zika outbreak has claimed an unexpected victim: the auto industry. India's biggest carmaker, Tata Motors, annouced today it will rename its new hatchback - the Zica - as global alarm grows about the similarly-named Zika virus.
The hatchback is slated to debut this week at India's Auto Expo 2016 in New Delhi, after being heavily publicized with a marketing campaign starring Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi. It will keep its name, derived from "Zippy Car," for now, but will find a replacement name in a few weeks, according to the BBC.
"While it carries the 'Zica' label for the duration of the event, the new name will be announced after a few weeks, ensuring all necessary consumer/branding and regulatory aspects are addressed, and the launch will take place thereafter," said the company in a statement.
The World Health Organization declared an international health emergency over the Zika virus Monday, which is "strongly suspected" to be linked to a large number of babies with microcephaly and adults with Guillain-Barré syndrome. With the debut coming up, Tata Motors felt it had little choice but to rebrand the vehicle.
"Empathising with the hardships being caused by the recent 'Zika' virus outbreak across many countries, Tata Motors, as a socially responsible company, has decided to rebrand the car," said the statement, according to the AFP.
This isn't the first time an automaker has chosen a name that is seemingly inappropriate or simply doesn't translate well across certain languages and cultures. Once such example is Chevrolet's Nova because, while it actually refers to a celestial event, in Spanish, the term "no va" translates to "won't go."
Similarly, two companies - Isis Financial Services and Isis Pharmaceuticals - had to change names after people began to confuse Isis, the Egyptian goddess of childbirth and healing, with ISIS, the militant group.
