VW confirms Scout EV to be built in U.S., sets target price

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Volkswagen’s off-road brand Scout Motors said on Friday it would build a US$2-billion manufacturing plant near Columbia, South Carolina, for trucks and SUVs. The investment could potentially create 4,000 or more permanent jobs, and more than 200,000 Scout vehicles could be produced annually at the facility.

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In May, VW said it would reintroduce the Scout off-road brand in the United States, offering new electric pickup and sport-utility vehicles (SUVs).

[More specifically, VW also revealed Friday that it hoped to launch the brand first with a body-on-frame “rugged utility vehicle” or RUV, priced around US$40,000 for the base model; and then follow that up quickly with a large pickup truck at a slightly higher price. Both are set to debut in 2024 ahead of a 2026 on-sale date; VW had originally aimed to reveal the pair in 2023. —Ed.]

Groundbreaking is planned for mid-2023, and production is projected to begin by the end of 2026. Scout, an independent U.S. company owned by Volkswagen Group, is currently evaluating the potential for outside investment. “We’re reimagining Scout’s original ingenuity and electrifying its future,” said Scout Chief Executive Scott Keogh.

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Volkswagen has moved away from cars in the United States as it adds more electric models. SUVs now account for about 80 per cent of the U.S. sales of the group’s VW and Audi brands. VW last sold a pickup in the United States in the early 1980s.

Scout and Travelall vehicles made by International Harvester were forerunners in both function and style of the popular SUVs from Detroit’s Big Three automakers such as the Ford Bronco and General Motors Chevrolet Suburban. Harvester stopped building the Scout and Travelall in 1980 after the oil price shocks of the mid-1970s as it went through a restructuring. But the Scout “look” lives on in vehicles such as Ford’s current Bronco and electric vehicle startup Rivian‘s R1 pickup and SUV line.

Volkswagen first disclosed it was considering using the Scout name late in 2021. The automaker’s Traton SE business acquired U.S. truck maker Navistar in 2020, which owns the name.