Scout will be Volkswagen’s new US-only brand

Volkswagen wants to increase its weight in the United States, a market in which it has more room for growth than in China or Europe, where it has been the undisputed leader in sales for years. To improve its penetration in the country, the leaders of the group have decided to recover a name well remembered by the North American public: Scout.

The Scout was an SUV produced from 1960 to 1980 by the International Harvester Company, a manufacturer specializing in farm machinery and pickup trucks. This company changed its name to Navistar International in 1985 after the sale of its agricultural division to the Case Corporation, passing into the hands of the Volkswagen Group in 2020 through its Traton truck unit.

Thanks to this acquisition, the German conglomerate also acquired the rights to the Scout name, which will become a new brand in its portfolio, as Audi, CUPRA, Lamborghini, and Skoda already are. Therefore, Scout will operate independently within the Volkswagen Group, separating itself from its parent’s products.

Initially, Scout will have two models, a retro-design SUV, and a pick-up. Both will be 100% electric. Although the first sketch of these proposals was released a few months ago, a new preview of the SUV has now been revealed, which will be inspired by its illustrious predecessor from the 60s and 70s of the last century.

Scout’s electric SUV will be launched in 2026

Volkswagen will allocate 1,000 million dollars to this project, and later it will look for other investors to carry it out. The company aims for Scout to reach annual sales of 250,000 units in the United States, with production scheduled to begin in 2026. It is not yet clear if the brand will reach other regions such as Europe.

The Scout’s off-roader’s main rival will be the Jeep Recon, due for launch in 2024. Like the latter, probably, the Scout won’t have a chassis of spars and cross members, betting on a monocoque structure. If confirmed, we would be talking about an SUV with country aspirations rather than a pure SUV like the Ford Bronco or the Jeep Wrangler.

Although it is still several years away from its coming out, Volkswagen plans to reveal the prototype of the highly anticipated vehicle in the very short term. Given that the final model will be presented in 2026, it would not be surprising if it made use of the SSP modular platform, which will include advances such as an 800-volt electrical system, the VW.OS operating system, a new generation of motors and batteries…