Scout Motors, the revived American 4x4 brand under Volkswagen's ownership, has been shrouded in mystery since its official reveal in 2024. The company has been teasing the upcoming pickup truck and SUV with images of mysterious silhouettes and has committed to offering battery-electric power with or without range-extending internal combustion options. However, a new report from German newspaper Der Spiegel claims that the production launch date for the Scout brand has been postponed to the summer of 2028, in part due to technology development issues and strict cost-cutting measures. According to Der Spiegel, the development of the gasoline-powered range extender is supposedly the main cause of the delay, with software for the EREV-style powerplant reportedly taking longer than usual to develop. The German newspaper alleges that this is due to an issue with Volkswagen's technology alliance with Rivian, which has ultimately forced the German automaker's internal software development team to ...
Scout Motors, the revived American 4×4 brand under Volkswagen’s ownership, has been shrouded in mystery since its official reveal in 2024. The company has been teasing the upcoming pickup truck and SUV with images of mysterious silhouettes and has committed to offering battery-electric power with or without range-extending internal combustion options. However, a new report from German newspaper Der Spiegel claims that the production launch date for the Scout brand has been postponed to the summer of 2028, in part due to technology development issues and strict cost-cutting measures.
According to Der Spiegel, the development of the gasoline-powered range extender is supposedly the main cause of the delay, with software for the EREV-style powerplant reportedly taking longer than usual to develop. The German newspaper alleges that this is due to an issue with Volkswagen’s technology alliance with Rivian, which has ultimately forced the German automaker’s internal software development team to step in. Volkswagen and Rivian’s contract only covered the development of electric architecture, according to the report, forcing Volkswagen to develop its own software for the EREV-version.
Packaging a small gas engine in the rear of its Terra truck and Traveler SUV is proving more difficult than expected for Scout’s engineer team, according to Der Spiegel. The German newspaper also reports that Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume is imposing tough austerity measures, including 20% cost cuts across the board, and the revival of Scout has allegedly become a particular concern of his, due to its $3 billion upfront cost.
The construction of Scout’s state-of-the-art South Carolina factory is already underway, but Volkswagen reportedly believes that capital is more urgently needed elsewhere. The company is allegedly concerned that the Scout facility won’t yield real revenue until a year after initially planned. Furthermore, Volkswagen executives worry that the relative newness of the Scout brand and its electrified pickup truck offerings will be a disadvantage against the likes of Ford and Chevrolet.
Despite these challenges, Volkswagen seems too deep into the Scout revival to stop it now—in part due to the $1.3 billion in South Carolina public subsidies promised to the automaker. The current political climate surrounding electric vehicles in the U.S. also adds a layer of tension, as President Donald Trump has stripped away federal EV tax credits and disincentivized the creation of electric vehicle charging and production infrastructure.
Scout initially projected a peak production rate of 250,000 U.S.-produced units for its South Carolina facility, but that may shift as well. Managing tariff challenges has forced the VW Group to consider new production arenas for brands like Audi; as a result, the South Carolina facility intended just for the truck-and-SUV brand is being considered for U.S. production of Audi models, further muddying the future of Scout’s output.
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