Scout's honour

The Scout name that once appeared on a line of pioneering American pick-up trucks is being revived as a VW Group-backed maker of off-road EVs. JAMES ATTWOOD investigates

- JAMES ATTWOOD

It would be easy to dismiss Scout Motors as yet another retro revival, a way of trying to attach some emotion to new electric vehicles by sticking a nostalgic logo on the bonnet. Or even as just another new Volkswagen Group sub-brand designed to protect the conglomerate’s share in the tough North American market.

Dig beneath the surface, though, and Scout is far more interesting - even if it isn’t a brand too well known to UK readers, and one that, for now, won't be sold here. For one thing, what’s not to love about a retro-styled Jeep Wrangler rival? For another, the unusual set-up of Scout could have a significant influence on the future development processes of one of the world’s biggest car firms.

Scout Motors isn’t technically a Volkswagen Group brand: it’s an independent stand-alone company based in the US but owned by the VW Group. While Scott Keogh, boss of Volkswagen USA, also serves as CEO of Scout, it otherwise has its own staff and facilities. It is, in effect, a startup created purely to make a new line of highly capable off-road EVs.

“The intent is to combine an American startup - speed, innovation, ingenuity, adaptability - with the backing, scale and money of one of the world’s leading manufacturers,” explains Ryan Decker, Scout's strategy boss (and employee number one). “Nobody has really done that before.”

But this is an electric vehicle startup housed in some nostalgic wrapping. A quick history lesson may be in order first because, despite its name, the original International Scout was very much an American machine. It was developed by International Harvester, a longtime US manufacturer of agricultural and construction vehicles that in the early 1900s expanded into light trucks and pick-ups.