Volkswagen could revive plans to launch a highly capable electric off-roader by using a new platform being developed by Scout Motors.

The American brand, inspired by the Scout range of Jeep-rivalling off-roaders made by International Harvester in the 1960s and 1970s, was launched by the Volkswagen Group in 2022 and is currently developing an SUV and a pick-up truck that will sit on a bespoke ladder-on-frame chassis.

Although wholly owned by Volkswagen USA, Scout Motors is an independent company and has been conceived to act as a fast-moving start-up with a heavy focus on advanced technology.

The Terra pick-up and Traveler SUV will both be offered with electric and range-extender powertrains and will benefit from software developed by Volkswagen’s new joint venture with Rivian. The models will be built at a new US plant under construction in Georgia, and are due to be launched in around 2028.

The development of a bespoke ladder-on-frame chassis is necessary to give the Scout vehicles genuine Jeep Wrangler-rivalling off-road ability. 

Scout technical boss Burkhard Huhnke told Autocar that the firm offered “a chance for the Volkswagen Group to observe how a start-up would take on these challenges”.

He added: “There is no body-on-frame platform in the entire group, so someone has to start. There is no body like that, EV like that, chassis like that, so we have to start from scratch.”

Asked how closely Wolfsburg is monitoring its investment, particularly in the ladder-on-frame chassis, Huhnke said: “You never get money for free.”

Speaking about the challenge Scout faces, he said: “Efficiency is key. I’ve taken the challenge to become a benchmark R&D organisation in the world, from a size and cost perspective. That is an interesting challenge appreciated by our sponsors as well. Of course, we are under observation.”

While Huhnke did not directly address the Volkswagen Group’s interest in the ladder-on-frame chassis, sources suggest there is a desire to use it for further vehicles – although given the timelines for the Scout launch, any other models adopting the platform would not appear until at least the early 2030s.

In 2020, Autocar revealed plans by Volkswagen to launch a large electric off-roader. The vehicle, known internally as the ID Ruggdzz and set to use a variant of the MEB platform, would have served as a Defender-rivalling SUV. The model had been planned for a 2023 launch but was one of a number of models scrapped after a change in Volkswagen management. However, Autocar sources suggest Volkswagen is keen to revisit the concept of an electric off-roader, and the Scout chassis would be a natural fit.

Audi could also be interested in Scout’s platform. As reported by Autocar in 2023, Audi is considering plans to launch its own 4x4 off-roader, with a model that could potentially be built alongside the two Scouts to make maximum use of the new plant’s production capacity.

Scout boss Scott Keogh recently said the factory has been designed so it can produce models for other Volkswagen Group brands.