Volkswagen to Revive Scout Brand with Electric Pickup
Volkswagen has announced their plans to revive the US-brand Scout by producing an electric pickup and SUV. The automaker has created a lot of buzz as of late with their plans to revive the microbus segment with their all-electric ID. Buzz, and now again by defibrillating the Scout name. Prototypes of their initial offerings will be released next year, with full on production slated for 2026. The vehicles will be designed, engineered, and manufactured in the United States, built specifically for American customers. Though revived by VW, the Scout brand will be founded as a separate, independent company; to a certain extent this will give Scout some autonomy from VW.
“The company we will establish this year will be a separate unit and brand within the Volkswagen Group to be managed independently,” said Arno Antlitz, CFO Volkswagen AG. “This aligns with the new Group steering model - small units that act agilely and have access to our tech platforms to leverage synergies.” Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen AG, said that the move towards electrification will provide a “historic opportunity” to enter the pickup and R-SUV segment as a group, helping VW become a more significant player in the US Market. “Success in the R-SUV & pick-up segments is a key lever to increasing profitability in the U.S. and achieving the targeted market share of ten percent,” said Diess. “The Volkswagen Group is thus continuing to systematically expand its presence in one of the most significant global growth markets.” The original Scout 80 off-road SUV made its global debut in the early 60’s, with subsequent models released up to the 80’s. It was designed primarily as a Jeep Wrangler competitor, populating an otherwise small segment at the time. While the segment has certainly grown with the times, we’re interested to know how closely this EV revival will stick to the Scout’s original calling.