Scout Terra pickup truck and Scout Traveler SUV concepts
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LAS VEGAS — Scout Motors has received more than 50,000 refundable reservation deposits for its first electric pickup trucks and SUVs, according to Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume.
Volkswagen has revived Scout, which was an American brand from 1961 to 1980, and unveiled production-oriented vehicles of its Terra pickup truck and Traveler SUV in October. The vehicles will be offered as all-electric models or extended-range electric vehicles, or EREVs.
Scout received fewer bookings than other automakers for all-electric vehicles in early 2020, when many of them were first introduced. Bookings do not guarantee sales but can be a measure of interest.
“The market response has been very positive,” Bloom said Tuesday night during a special media event at the CES technology conference in Las Vegas. “The response was: ‘This is heritage.’” …It's kind of a love story.”
In the case of Scout, customers must put up a refundable deposit of $100 to be among the first to place an order for a vehicle when it opens. The vehicles are scheduled to arrive in 2027.
The Scout brand is part of VW's plan to grow market share in the United States across its brands, which include Audi, Porsche and its namesake brand, among others. The German automaker's U.S. share currently stands at about 4%, Blum said.
“Our ambition is much greater to improve our market share, and we believe we have some potential with all the new cars entering the market,” Bloom said, without revealing a potential market share target.
Traveler Scout SUV concept
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Scout CEO Scott Keogh said during a separate interview at CES that bookings have exceeded the company's expectations. He said that about 70% of reservations were for the Traveler SUV, in line with the company's expectations.
Keogh declined to reveal details between bookings for all-electric and EREV models.
“We're very happy with the numbers,” Keough told CNBC. “There has been a good response to EREV.”
EREVs are essentially a type of hybrid electric vehicle. They include EV motors and battery cells, as well as a traditional internal combustion engine to power the car's electrical components when the battery loses power. The engine essentially acts as a generator to power the vehicle's electrical components when needed.
Keogh previously said Scout added EREVs to better protect the brand from any market volatility amid lower-than-expected consumer demand for electric vehicles.
He said the company is currently focused on three main tasks: increasing brand recognition, continuing to engineer the vehicle, and completing a $2 billion factory in South Carolina.
Both the Traveler and Terra are expected to start under $60,000, according to the Scout website. The EREVs will feature a range of more than 500 miles, according to the company, with a range of up to 350 miles for all-electric models.
Scout Terra pickup truck concept
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At CES, Scout highlighted connectivity and in-vehicle user experiences for its upcoming truck and SUV, which are designed to be outdoor entertainment models similar to the likes of Jeep and emerging electric vehicles. Rivian. This includes satellite communication available for scout vehicles in remote areas.
Scout is currently building a factory in South Carolina with an annual production capacity of 200,000 vehicles. Scout expects to use batteries – the most expensive part of an electric vehicle – from Volkswagen's joint venture battery cell manufacturer in Canada.
Scout also plans to use software and electrical engineering from the $5.8 billion joint venture deal between Rivian and VW in its vehicles.
Volkswagen acquired the Scout brand and name following the global group's $3.7 billion acquisition of Navistar in 2021, succeeding Scout's original owner, International Harvester.
