Volkswagen partners up for Scout EV development with $492 million deal

By Zachary Visconti

Posted on November 26, 2023

Volkswagen has decided to work with another automaker to help develop its revived Scout electric vehicle (EV) brand in Europe, with recent reports saying the company secured an order worth around 450 million euros ($492 million).

Graz, Austria-based manufacturer Magna Steyr will develop the two Volkswagen Scout EV models, according to a report from local media outlet Kleine Zeitung last week. The EV brand will get both an electric pickup and an SUV, and they’re expected to be introduced in the U.S. in early 2027, with series production for the vehicles expected to be ready by the end of 2026.

According to the report, which cited multiple sources familiar with the matter, Magna was originally supposed to oversee assembly of the EVs in the U.S., although Volkswagen now plans to build the vehicle itself at an upcoming South Carolina plant.

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The company will, however, produce the vehicles in Graz, and development is reportedly already underway there and in the U.S. Magna primarily builds off-road vehicles at the Graz factory, including the Mercedes-Benz G-Class. The Volkswagen order also represents the largest contract for development as of yet.

Earlier this year, Volkswagen said that the electric SUV would be priced around $40,000.

In the press release announcing the Scout lineup last May, announced it would found an independent company to “design, engineer, and manufacture the pick-up and rugged SUV (R-SUV) segment. The company later teased the upcoming re-brand as Scout Motors with the brand’s own website, which you can see here.

Volkswagen has embraced battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) over the past few years. In September, the company announced that its total BEV deliveries had jumped 45 percent worldwide year over year.

You can see a few of the Scout’s concept images from the release below.