Volkswagen reportedly will resurrect Scout as an off-road EV brand for the US
According to the Journal, VW’s board of directors is set to authorize the plan on Wednesday. The strategy imagines Scout operating as a subsidiary of VW, much like Audi, Skoda, Porsche, Lamborghini, and Bentley. (A VW spokesperson declined to comment, keeping in mind that the report refers to actions taken by Volkswagen Group’s supervisory board.)
Volkswagen is thinking about resurrecting the SUV pioneer Scout as an off-road electrical vehicle brand, according to The Wall Street Journal. The brand would be concentrated on the US market, where it would likely compete with popular nameplates like the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco.
VW is one of the biggest car manufacturers on the planet however only holds a little share of the United States market. The plan to revive Scout as an electrical off-roading brand name is clearly aimed at winning over US car purchasers, which are significantly thinking about suvs and trucks. The strategy would mark the very first time VW has produced a separate brand concentrated on the US.
VW is reportedly ready to pump $1 billion into the new Scout brand name, which might include constructing a new manufacturing center, and working with a whole swath of US-based executives. The company might also look for outside funding for the project, with the possibility of noting the subsidiary on the public markets once it’s up and running.
VW has hinted at its interest in making electrical off-road automobiles in the past with principles like the ID Buggy, an electric dune buggy. For VW, the buggy is indicated to flaunt the adaptability of its MEB, or “Modulare E-Antriebs-Baukasten,” which is German for “modular electric drive matrix.” The business is betting big on its MEB platform, which will serve as the basis for the 10 million electric vehicles it wishes to sell.
TechCrunch has a rendering of what a few of the vehicles might look like. One appears to be comparable to VW’s Atlas SUV, which can seat seven, while the other is a pickup in the vein of the VW Amarok.
VW hopes to ultimately sell 250,000 Scout-branded vehicles in the US yearly, with production set to begin in 2026, the Journal reports, citing sources knowledgeable about the planning.
The strategy visualizes Scout operating as a subsidiary of VW, much like Audi, Skoda, Porsche, Lamborghini, and Bentley. Production stopped in 1980, and VW obtained the rights to the brand when it bought Navistar International in 2020. VW has hinted at its interest in making electrical off-road automobiles in the past with principles like the ID Buggy, an electrical dune buggy. VW is reportedly willing to pump $1 billion into the new Scout brand, which could consist of developing a new manufacturing facility, and working with an entire swath of US-based executives. The company’s CEO Herbert Diess just recently stated that VW is “basically offered out on electric cars in Europe and in the United States” for the year.
The Scout was first introduced in 1961 by International Harvester as a little, two-door SUV. A precursor to the more advanced SUVs to come, it was meant to contend with Jeep, featuring rugged details and a fold-down windscreen. The Scout and second-generation Scout II were produced in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as two-door trucks with a removable hardtop.
Production dropped in 1980, and VW obtained the rights to the brand name when it bought Navistar International in 2020. (Navistar was developed in 1985 when International Harvester went out of service.)
Still, VW will have to compete with supply chain restraints, battery material shortages, and rising inflation as it seeks to get this new EV endeavor off the ground. The business’s CEO Herbert Diess recently said that VW is “generally offered out on electric cars in Europe and in the United States” for the year. Anybody hoping to get an EV from VW, Audi, or any of the group’s other brand names might have to wait up until 2023 as the company attempts to navigate the chip shortage and production concerns from COVID shutdowns in China.