Volkswagen wants to bring back the Scout brand as an electric vehicle

May 16, 2022: Volkswagen plans to resurrect the brand “Scout” as an electric vehicle in the U.S.

On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal said the German automotive giant aims to launch a “new Scout-branded electric sport-utility vehicle” and an electric pickup truck, also under the Scout name.

The Scout originated in the year the 1960s when International Harvester, today called the Navistar International Corporation, started development.

According to Navistar, the Scout was “marketed as an all-terrain family recreational vehicle” before becoming a “true SUV.” Production of the Scout was stopped in 1980. Today, Navistar is part of the Traton Group, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group.

Reuters had cited two people with knowledge of the matter who said that Volkswagen was about to invest roughly 100 million euros ($105.49 million) in the recently launched brand. It would look for “external funding through investors or an IPO to expand its production capabilities.”

In July 2021, the VW Group said half of its sales were expected battery-electric vehicles by 2030. Almost 100% of its new cars in major markets should be zero-emission by 2040.

Volkswagen’s electrification plans directly compete with long-established automakers like GM and Ford and relative newcomers like Tesla.

Recently, Ford CEO Jim Farley said his business planned to “challenge Tesla and all comers to become the top EV maker.”

In March 2021, Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess dismissed the notion his firm could join forces with Tesla, which told CNBC that the company was looking to go its way.