The Scout Terra pickup truck and the Scout Traveler SUV concept
Scout
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Volkswagen-backed Scout Motors revealed its first electric vehicle and announced plans for the brand to expand its lineup to include a growing variety of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in addition to EV models.
Scout, formerly an American vehicle brand from 1961 to 1980, is expected to offer EVs exclusively in a bid for the German automaker to expand its presence in the US. of course and includes long-range electric vehicles, or EREVs.
“Being a fast-moving startup, we can pivot,” Scout CEO Scott Keogh, a longtime auto executive who previously led VW’s U.S. operations, told CNBC. “The pivot we made a few months ago to offer a range extender is definitely a smart play.”
EREVs are a type of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. These include EV motors and battery cells, as well as traditional internal combustion engines to power the vehicle’s electrical components when the battery loses energy. The engine acts as a generator to power the EV components when needed.
Scout Terra pickup truck concept
Keogh said Scout added the EREV to protect the brand from market volatility amid lower-than-expected consumer demand for EVs.
“We think electrification is the future. Range extender sets up as an EV car, so introduce people to electrification, they have not been super smart, let’s say, ‘backup plan,'” he said during an interview on Friday. “It will drive like an EV.”
He said Scout has no plans to offer a traditional, non-electric vehicle with only an internal combustion engine.
The company’s first vehicles – a full-size pickup truck and a large SUV – will cover about 40% of the lucrative US sales market.
Keogh said the company is targeting to be operationally profitable within a full calendar year after initial production of the vehicles, which will be built at a $2 billion plant under construction in South Carolina.
“If you look at these profit pools, these two areas, from pickup trucks this size to SUVs this size … it’s the biggest profit pool in the world,” Keogh said.
Concept Scout Traveler SUV
Scout
Being profitable during that time would be quite successful, as current EV startups for example Rivian Automotive and Lucid Group lose tens of thousands of dollars on every vehicle they produce after a few years.
Meanwhile, Keogh said the announced software deal between VW and Rivian will not affect Scout operations. He described the $5 billion software deal, which includes the establishment of a joint venture, as an “exciting opportunity” for Scout.
“It’s good for scale. It’s good for technology. It’s good for everything,” Keogh said.
Scout’s South Carolina plant is planned to have a production capacity of 200,000 vehicles. The Scout expects to use batteries – the most expensive part of an electric vehicle – from VW’s joint venture battery cell manufacturer in Canada.
The company opened vehicle reservations on Thursday night on its website. Scout plans to sell the vehicle directly to consumers rather than through a traditional franchised dealer network like VW in the US.
New SUV, truck
Scout’s first two vehicles are the Traveler SUV and the Terra pickup truck, which are scheduled to arrive in 2027.
The company unveiled a “production-intended concept vehicle” — meaning it’s widely expected to be the same vehicle it goes on sale — Thursday outside Nashville, Tennessee.
The interior of the Scout Traveler SUV concept
Scout
The Traveler and Terra are expected to start between $50,000 and $60,000 with available incentives, according to Scout. Keogh said the price for the EREV is also in that range. He declined to say whether it would cost less than the all-electric model.
The Traveler SUV is expected to account for two-thirds of the company’s initial sales, Keogh said.
The EREV vehicle will have a range of more than 500 miles, according to the company, compared to a range of 300 miles for the all-electric model.
The Traveler and Terra designs are modern versions of the Scout vehicle. They have the same design characteristics but on the outside they are better and better. The interior of the vehicle has a large horizontal screen and soft touch materials.
VW acquired the Scout trademark and name following the $3.7 billion acquisition of Navistar by the global conglomerate, the successor to Scout’s original owner International Harvester, in 2021.
Scout Traveler SUV concept
The electric Scout vehicle is aimed at 100% grade and 0-60 mph acceleration in as fast as 3.5 seconds and offers nearly 1,000 lb.-ft. of torque, the company said.
Scout says the vehicle will use the North American Charging Standard, an 800-volt architecture with a charging capacity of up to 350 kilowatts, and will be capable of bi-directional charging that will allow the vehicle to act as a generator.
Tough market, competition
The SUV is expected to be a competitor to traditional off-road SUVs from Jeep as well as Ford Bronco and Toyota Land Cruiser Kab. It is bigger than Jeep’s famous Wrangler, which is now available as a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
The truck is a full-size pickup – a segment currently dominated by Ford, General Motors and Stelantis Brand Ram. But the electric pickup market in which the Scout will compete remains an emerging market.
Automakers such as GM and Ford rushed to release all-electric pickup trucks earlier this decade to compete with several EV startups, many of which never materialized, as well Tesla. Stellantis is expected to release an all-electric and EREV full-size pickup next year.
Concept Scout Traveler SUV
But after rushing the vehicle to market, sales have slowed. Like the EV industry as a whole, large vehicles range from significant price premiums to highly incentivized vehicles.
Overall, this electric “truck” market, including SUVs, accounted for nearly 58,000 vehicles sold in the first half of this year, according to estimates from Motor Intelligence. That’s less than 1% of the roughly 7.9 million new vehicles sold during that period in the U.S., but it rose 35% month-on-month from the first quarter to the second quarter, according to the data.
Keogh believes Scout can differentiate itself in the market with its products, low prices and brand appeal. Additional Scout products are expected to follow in the year ahead, Keogh said.
“Can we consider some points in the future sizing down? Absolutely,” he said. “You want to throw a dart in the very first place. And I have done that between these two vehicles.”