Volkswagen hints at electric Scout model for rugged SUV

At the beginning of July, Volkswagen subsidiary Triton bought Navistar as part of a $3.7-billion deal. Traton owns the MAN and Scania brands, which have now been put alongside Navistar, a company born in 1986 to succeed International Harvester. With Navistar still holding tightly to the “Scout” name, VW is now analyzing the prospects of reviving the moniker for a future production model.

The surprising disclosure was made by Johan De Nysschen, Volkswagen Group of America’s Chief Operating Officer, in a recent talk with the press. Motor Trend says the German automaker is interested to roll out a Scout model as a rugged SUV offered exclusively with electric power. Such a vehicle would compete with EV versions of the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler, both of which are expected to hit the market in the coming years.

It’s unclear whether it will be badged as a VW or the company plans to create a separate Scout brand and sell the model through a different dealership network. Even if it has been green-lighted for production, the all-terrain SUV is likely many years away seeing as how other electric vehicles rank higher on the list of priorities: ID. Buzz van, ID. Aero sedan/wagon, ID.1 small hatchback, and the flagship Trinity.

Another missing piece of the puzzle is the platform that would underpin such a model. It’ll be interesting to see whether it will ride on the MEB architecture shared with the ID.3 and ID.4 or adopt the SSP hardware debuting on a mass-market model with Trinity in 2026. Rugged SUVs represent an increasingly popular niche, and since we’re on the dawn of an EV era, it would make sense for VW to try and lure in customers looking for a zero-emissions and highly capable SUV.

Previous rumors had referred to the model as the Ruggdzz and T-Rug, but we’d argue Scout is a much better choice thanks to its heavy dose of nostalgia. It won’t be called the International Harvester Scout since the rights to the first two words are owned by Case IH, an agricultural company founded in 1985 when Tenneco bought the agricultural division of the ill-fated International Harvester.

Source: Motor Trend