All the news about Scout Motors, a classic SUV brand gone electric

Scout Motors, the classic off-road brand from the sixties, has been reborn as an electric vehicle company and is building a new SUV and pickup truck. The pioneering Jeep rival was brought back to life by Volkswagen in 2022 after the German automaker acquired Scout in 2020 (when it merged its commercial trucking company Traton with Navistar). VW made former Volkswagen Group America CEO Scott Keogh head of the new Scout, and said it would pump $1 billion into the company.

Two years later, Volkswagen's new Scout has revealed two vehicles: the Traveler SUV and Terra pickup truck, which are advertised as affordable electric off-road vehicles built in the USA. One of the big selling points: more chunky mechanical buttons and fewer software controls. Oh, and an expected starting price under $60,000 before incentives.

Scout says it will start building the Traveler and Terra in late 2026, with a full production ramp in 2027. Can Scout pull off the modernized resurrection of a classic SUV and deliver it at a competitive price point compared to other electric off-roaders like Rivian's R1S and the upcoming $45,000 R2? Does it help Scout that VW is now a significant investor in Rivian? Follow along below to find out where Scout is heading.

Decades ago, Scout Motors helped introduce America to the "sport utility vehicle," a quirky new automobile that would eventually come to dominate our roads. The brand went bust in 1980 - but now, it's back, and it's all-electric.

Scout, which is now an independent company under the Volkswagen Group, introduced its first new-concept vehicles today: the Terra truck and the Traveler SUV. Both vehicles are body-on-frame, sitting on top a brand-new EV platform unique to Scout. And both could start at under $60,000 (without incentives) when production begins in 2027.

Volkswagen is investing $1 billion in Rivian as part of a new joint venture that will give the German auto giant access to the buzzy California EV company's software and EV platform. Rivian will receive an additional $4 billion over time, for a total sum of $5 billion.

The joint venture will be co-owned by Rivian and VW Group, which oversees brands like Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, and its flagship Volkswagen. The two companies will introduce vehicles developed from the joint venture in the "second half of the decade," they announced.