An all-new brand, nimble and contemporary, designed specifically to take-on the emerging markets and beat competition from more established brands.
Volkswagen’s idea to revive the Scout brand as a primarily electric offering with an SUV and pickup seemed like a great idea when it was announced more than two years ago.
But times have changed, dramatically.
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When the idea for Scout was revealed to the public, hopes were high the electric pickup truck market was about to boom in the USA, with the arrival of the Ford F-150 Lightning, Tesla Cybertruck and the Rivian R1T.
The Scout Terra ute and Traveler SUV concepts the brand revealed in the US recently look promising, both stylish and with good on-paper specifications.
The problem is, the EV market has not evolved as expected. The F-150 Lightning has failed to spark with customers, the Cybertruck is an oddity and Rivian is still struggling to make a profit. Launching a new brand into these conditions looks like a far worse idea than it did two years ago, but Volkswagen is committed now and must carry on.
Scout Motors president and CEO Scott Keogh tried to put a positive spin on the situation.
“The original core idea — rugged, versatile vehicles capable of off-road adventure and family duty — is more relevant than ever,” he said.
What Keogh failed to mention was the electric powertrains, originally a key selling point for Scout. Along with battery only. the brand will offer a range-extender option for those who don’t want to commit all the way to battery power. Scout is not going to offer petrol or diesel combustion engines.
Whether this will be a gamble that jackpots or goes bust remains to be seen, but it does highlight the shifting fortunes in the EV market. After a slow start there was a boom for EV demand as models like the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y became more mainstream, even in markets like Australia. It saw multiple brands commit to an all-electric future within the next decade, but the EV sales growth has cooled. Electric car sales are still up year-to-date in Australia, but account for about 7.4 per cent of the total market. Australians continue to prefer petrol and hybrid powered vehicles — and that doesn’t look like changing dramatically anytime soon.
The good news for Volkswagen Australia is there are no plans to offer the Scout models locally, they’ll be made in the US for the US market only. But the story of Scout and its early decision to nail its colours to the mast of electrification is a cautionary one for many car makers.
Toyota has been criticised for its slow introduction of EVs, offering only the bZ4X SUV alongside a fleet of hybrid options. And yet, Toyota remains Australia’s favourite brand by some margin thanks to its ‘multi-pathway’ strategy of offering different options for different buyers.
Not that EVs won’t become more popular in Australia, especially if the New Vehicle Efficiency Standards (NVES) helps to drive more investment in the segment and push down prices as hoped, but there is no guarantee it will.
As the team at Volkswagen and Scout can no doubt tell you, a lot can change in two years…
