2027 Scouts: Coming Soon

Scout Terra (left), and Scout Traveler – 2027 Scouts

Between 1961 and 1980, big-rig semi-tractor and farm-implement maker International Harvester built a tidy, rugged, capable off-road SUV called Scout. The Scout competed for sales with vehicles from Chevrolet, Ford, and Jeep, but preceded all of them to market. Respectively, the Blazer arrived for 1969, the Bronco for 1966, and the Wagoneer for 1963. The Scout never sold in especially big numbers, but served well Harvester’s core agricultural clientele, most of whom likely appreciated the Scout’s trim footprint and go-anywhere 4WD.

2027 Scouts

History

Later, then known as the Scout II, the scrappy Harvester enjoyed the marketing push of a serious ad campaign for 1979 and 1980, including the introduction of a Nissan-supplied diesel engine, but sales never reached hoped-for levels. Harvester abandoned the Scout after that, having already ended sales of a rugged but slow-selling pickup truck in 1975. Though appreciated by a niche audience of classic-truck aficionados, the Scout never enjoyed the same love as did vintage Ford Broncos.

Time passed, and International Harvester became Navistar, and in July of 2021, Navistar was acquired by the Volkswagen Group, becaming part of the German maker’s vast Traton commercial-truck operation. For those not in the know, Traton’s holdings include such companies as Scania AB (once part of Saab), Man (busses and big rigs), and, of course, International. Though owned by VW, Navistar maintains its headquarters in suburban Chicago, and continues to build popular International-brand commercial trucks.

New Scouts

Fast forward to today: Volkswagen corporate types, looking to develop a new, electric-truck-only brand specifically for the U.S. market, realized it had marketing gold in its brand portfolio in the form of the Scout name, which it acquired as part of the Navistar deal.

The all-new Scout brand, which is not a division of Volkswagen, but a wholly owned subsidiary (we’ll talk about why that distinction is important in a moment), revealed this week—in concept form– it’s two initial products, the Traveler SUV and Terra pickup truck. Note that Traveler and Tera were variations of the original Scout.

Scouts Will be Electric

The Scout folks were sparse with information, but we know a couple things. First, in addition to the electric drivetrain always intended for these vehicles, Scout will also offer an extended-range variant, about which we know little. However, extended-range versions of either Scout will feature a gasoline engine that will generate electric power should the Traveler’s or Terra’s batteries fully deplete.

Size and Class

The 4-door Traveler crossover concept is 208 inches long, substantially longer than a Ford Explorer (199 inches), closing in on the full-size Ford Expedition (210 inches.)

Likewise, the Terra pickup truck concept is 229 inches long, just shy of a Ford short-bed F-150 crew-cab. Seems that Volkswagen will be trying to crack the full-size truck market just after Nissan discontinued its big truck, the Titan. Of course, the Titan was not electric.

Cabin

Both trucks feature a charmingly reimagined Seventies/Eighties-era cabin, as well as a Scout logo true to the original. Note that the Scout enjoyed a couple decades of on-again/off-again advertising support. You can check out some of those classic magazine advertisements here.

And about Scout being a subsidiary…

Scout Motors

Volkswagen intends to market Scout trucks via a direct-to-consumer model, thus sidestepping the traditional franchise-dealership model. This matters for a couple of reasons. First, Volkswagen dealers will certainly see this arrangement as a betrayal of their franchise agreements with VW, though their claim on the Scout brand is tenuous. Audi and Porsche, also VW divisions, could make the same claim.

But, more importantly, Volkswagen’s U.S. operation has for years been petitioning the home office for a pickup truck to sell in the U.S., And while Volkswagen seems to agree that the time is right to sell a pickup Stateside, it won’t do so through the VW brand or franchise network. That said, it is likely VW dealers will be called on to service Scout products, perhaps even deliver them. We’ll see how that goes.

Dealerships

Note that Scout will establish a network of “retail spaces” throughout the U.S., though expect the total count of stores to be relatively low, and, at least initially, located near EV-friendly cities. Per Scout, the new trucks be produced in South Carolina, with the first vehicles rolling off the line in 2026 as 2027 models.

Fun Fact: Swiss bespoke luxury carmaker Monteverdi once built a limited-production SUV called the Safari using the chassis of the Scout. You can read about that very-rare truck here.

CG Says

We very excited about Scout Motors, and it’s seemingly market-savvy approach to retailing electric vehicles. Volkswagen has struggled to move electric products, but this America-specific, legacy-themed effort feels solid. That said, only Toyota has ever cracked the full-size-pickup code in the U.S., though we’re cautiously optimistic VW in on the right path.

Adding and extended-range powertrain options to the trucks was a last-minute add by the Scout folks, but the feature, reasonably priced, may be enough to bring EV averse folks into the brand.