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Scout is back and it’s in the U.S.A. with big financial backing from Volkswagen. We’re breaking down the brand’s recent American groundbreaking and what it means for the industry.
Scout is Back and It’s All-electric
Few companies might be as misunderstood as Scout, the latest all-electric automaker on the block. Today, we’re going to break down a little of its history, a little of its present, and what it expects to produce in the near future. Buckle up because it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
The International Harvester Days
International Harvester is the company that pioneered the original Scout SUV back in 1960. At the time, no other vehicle on the market offered the rugged capability of a Jeep but with an enclosed cabin and the amenities found in the Scout. That pioneering spirit helped the Scout develop an almost cult-like following that still exists today. The model was a hit and proved to be so popular that many see the Ford Bronco as a bit of a ripoff of the Scout’s success.
International Harvester still did well enough to expand the brand though. The Scout II arrived a few years after the original. A larger SUV dubbed the Travelall came online too with more interior space, updated technology, and more luxury features. International also found huge success with its heavy-duty truck division. Ultimately, the SUV portion of the business proved unsustainable and production ended in 1980.
Scout Ditches International Harvester
Over the years, the International Harvester brand fell under the ownership of a company called Navistar. Then, in 2016, due to financial pressure, Navistar partnered with Volkswagen-owned Traton. In 2020 Traton bought Navistar and so technically International Harvester and its intellectual property, like the Scout, are owned by Volkswagen.
Despite that, the new version of Scout without the International Harvester branding is said to be a US-based company that acts independently from within the Volkswagen family. It’s gone from just a few employees three years ago to over 300 employees today. The company has broken ground in South Carolina where its new production facility will be and interestingly enough it brought real bricks from the original factory in Fort Wayne, Indiana along to be part of this new facility. It hopes to begin production in 2025 or 2026 and to show off its upcoming vehicles later this year.
Speaking Of Those Vehicles
Scout says that it’ll begin with two models at launch, an SUV, and a pickup truck. Both will feature the same sort of boxy style that the original Scout was known for. They’ll both be fully electric too. In fact, Volkswagen says that it’ll get a bespoke chassis not found in any other VW-group product.
If that sounds like Rivian then good, it’s supposed to. Scout says that it’s aiming at just such a demographic and that it sees great potential in the market for both the truck and SUV.
For Volkswagen the benefits are big. It knows that a VW truck or off-road SUV probably won’t go over incredibly well. At the same time, it knows that Scout still has a real brand presence in America. For those who are unaware of the history, the brand will likely be different enough from VW that customers won’t tie the two together.
