You’ll Have to Wait a While for the All-Electric Scout Pickup and SUV

• Scout just revealed two concepts, an SUV called the Traveler and a pickup truck called the Terra. The two are 85% of what the production models will be when those launch in 2027.

• Both have design cues from original early Scouts of the 1960s and '70s.

• Pricing will start at "under" $60,000. Range is 350 miles on batteries alone and 500 miles with the optional range-extender gasoline engine.

If the hype holds true, and after seeing the concept models for each, the all-new Scout Traveler SUV and Scout Terra pickup truck will be serious competitors on the market when they arrive in showrooms in 2027.

Both will ride on body-on-frame chassis with solid rear axles and lockers front and rear. Both will sport dual electric motors, with one on the front axle and one on the rear. There was no mention of a single-motor option, at least not yet. But there will be a range extender available, which may or may not take the form of a VW-sourced inline four-cylinder gasoline engine mounted under the rear floor.

While battery size was not released, Scout has said to expect 350 miles range with the pure battery setup and “more than 500 miles” of range with the optional extended range electric vehicle (EREV) energy system, cleverly called the Harvester™ after International’s line of tractors.

The first Traveler SUVs will have a tow rating of 7000 pounds, and the pickups will be able to tow as much as 10,000 pounds. Both will have payload ratings of one ton, meaning you can pile 2000 pounds of people and bricks in the seats, the cargo area and the bed of the pickup version. If those numbers hold out till production commences in two years, no one will be able to say these aren’t serious entries in the full-size SUV and pickup truck wars.

Prices for these start at “under $60,000” for both SUV and pickup. Scout says those prices will drop to “as low as $50,000” for the Traveler and $51,500 for the Terra “with available incentives.” Both will be eligible for Federal and local incentives, since both will be made in the U.S. at the Scout Motors Production Center near Columbia, South Carolina.

Like Tesla, Lucid and Rivian, Scouts will be sold directly to customers without a traditional dealer network. There will be 25 locations where you can buy a Scout in the first year they’re available, along with several studios where you can hang out and learn Scouting. The whole sales transaction can be done via an app on your cell phone, as opposed to the legacy sales model (a process Scout claims takes over 13 hours to complete).

“Buying a Scout should be as easy as buying a T-shirt on Amazon,” said Stuart Dixon, senior director of digital products. “Service should be just as easy.”

That whole part of the presentation seemed a little optimistic, such as the hope to be able to someday sell cars online in every state.

“We’re confident we’ll be able to deliver to all 50 states,” Dixon clarified.

Is that overly optimistic? Hey, you have to be optimistic when you’re launching a new car company.

“Two years in the making, the day has finally come to share the next generation of Scout vehicles with the world,” said Scott Keogh, president and CEO of Scout Motors.

“The original core idea—rugged, versatile vehicles capable of off-road adventure and family duty—is more relevant than ever. We couldn’t be prouder to revitalize this iconic American brand, create thousands of American jobs, and put American ingenuity back to work.”

Keough started at Scout when it was just barely forming. He actually rented a cubicle at a WeWork location for several months. Now the company has grown exponentially. The technical and design centers are in Novi, Michigan, corporate headquarters are in Tysons, VA, while an 1100-acre green field factory is sprouting in South Carolina, the latter which will be finished in 2025.

That factory will have a capacity of 200,000 vehicles a year, but with land available on both sides, that number can increase almost as much as it wants to. Scout even said the facility could take on production for other vehicles and even other manufacturers. More optimism!

The International Scout was originally built for just 19 years, between 1961 and 1980. You may recall the Scouts 80, 800 and Scout II, among others. VW acquired the Scout name when it took over Navistar, which itself had taken over International Harvester, which made the original Scouts. Scout is now an independent company set up by Volkswagen in 2022.

The design of the new car carries over themes and proportions from those earlier models and does it well. Scout brought out several privately owned original models for us to see before rolling out the two new vehicles, and the heritage was clear on the new Terra and Traveler, especially in the rear roof pillar, the grille, and the subtle line circumnavigating the middle.

Inside were two rows of seats, with front bench seats an option, something that elicited cheers from the assembled Scout faithful who’d been invited to celebrate the brand at its unveiling Oct. 24 near Franklin, Tennessee. Scout is studying whether to offer a third-row option, but that won’t be available at launch.

Another thing that brought cheers from the crowd was the announcement that the Terra and Traveler would have buttons and knobs controlling audio and HVAC in addition to just a central infotainment screen. Take that, Tesla!

More info will come out in the next two years before launch, but the preliminary specs and information sound promising. Scout is back, it’s electric, mostly, and it’s highly capable. Looking forward to driving one sometime before 2027 when it is scheduled to launch in showrooms.

How do you think the market will receive Scout’s new SUV and pickup truck when they arrive in three years? Please comment below.