We’ve been hearing about the return of Scout Motors for a couple years. The company pushed out teasers for its Scout SUV and pickup in 2022, and then, well, not much. The company’s website says the big reveal is coming in late summer of 2024, which could be July. Or August. Or even September. Depending on what your definition of “late” and “summer” are. Now, we learned of Volkswagen Groups big $5 billion investment in Rivian, and we’re wondering what effect, if any, this will have on Scout Motors.
So, we figured it’s time to dig into what Scout was and will be in the U.S. as well as make some guesses about what the Scout SUV and pickup will be.
Scout history
The Scout Motors website calls the Scout “the blueprint for the first SUV.” Originally, Scout wasn’t its own brand, it was a specific model produced by International Harvester. Produced from 1961 to 1980, this was a vehicle that was both off-road capable and family ready. It was considered a direct competitor for the Jeep CJ.
The first generation even had a fold-down windshield. Later models had removable tops.
And all this was before the Ford Bronco came on the scene.
It came in both pickup truck and SUV variants, and was equipped with four-, six- and eight-cylinder engines over the years. Most of the models were standard with four-wheel drive.
Though you had different generations and models over the 19-year span, these vehicles were known for the boxy shape and off-road capability.
The new Scout Motors
Being reborn as its own brand, Scout Motors is a subsidiary of Navistar International, which is owned by Volkswagen Group. It will have a production center in South Carolina, and here’s the biggie, it will be an all-electric brand.
We heard a lot about Scout Motors a couple years ago, but in recent months, the brand has been unusually mum. Its last Instagram post was four weeks ago, and its last blog post, a production center update, was May 16.
Things still seem to be moving along for the production center, and things still seem on track for a 2024 reveal, 2025 production start and 2026 rollout.
What we know about the Scout SUV, pickup
Let’s start with this: Not a lot. Previously, the folks at Scout motors have said the Scout SUV and pickup will be built on their own platform that isn’t related to the current electric vehicles being produced by parent company Volkswagen. But we haven’t heard a peep about range, charging or, well, anything else.
From the silhouette teaser released a couple years ago, featured above, we see the boxy shape of what appears to be an SUV. The Instagram page also shows a silhouetted pickup posted several weeks later. So, we anticipate Scout Motors is planning to reveal a pickup and SUV at the same time.
But size proportions remain to be seen. As do features – like will the new models employ a removable top like the OG Scouts?
Publications like Motor1 have created renderings, which look very Bronco-esque. MotorTrend reports it will have a body-on-frame construction, which speaks to its off-road-ready heritage (and future), and InsideEVs has good intel that places the base price near $50k.
But other than that, your guess is as good as everyone else’s.
A Rivian connection?
In an interesting twist, Volkswagen Group just bought a $5 billion stake in Rivian. So, speculation is running rampant about what this means for the Scout Motors platform. The deal will help Rivian bring the R2 to market and gives VW access to Rivian’s software and electronics platform.
Could the Scout SUV and pickup have a touch of Rivian in them? Likely. But how much is TBD.
The bottom line
At this point, we don’t know what we don’t know. And we don’t know a lot. Here’s to hoping we’ll know more (a lot more) in a couple months.
In the meantime, let your imagination run wild. What do you think the new Scout SUV and pickup should be? What would be on your wish list for the vehicles?
