Volkswagen says it remains committed to reviving the Scout brand despite recently signing a deal with$5 billion deal with RivianTo to develop the next generation of electrical engineering and software technologies.
Last week, Volkswagen and Rivian A joint venture, allowing the German automaker to use the company's existing software-defined vehicle platforms.Rivian In its future electric cars.
The deal surprised many, especially since Rivian currently makes an electric SUV and an electric pickup truck, the same type of vehicle that Scout is developing.
In a recent note to investors, UBS analysts, including Patrick Hammer, noted “significant potential overlap with Rivian” and questioned “why VW is maintaining its €5 billion ($5.3 billion) investment in Scout.
Plans to revive the Scout brand were underway, while VW was under the leadership of Herbert Diess, who pushed hard for new and compelling electric cars.
Diess has been replaced in the top job by Oliver Blume, and Volkswagen is not as enthusiastic about new electric cars, due to a recent slowdown in demand.
However, the auto giant confirmed that statement to Auto News It remains committed to the Scout brand.
Both the SUV and pickup being developed by Scout will be underpinned by off-road-focused architecture and are expected to feature boxy, rugged designs.
Volkswagen's deal with Rivian suggests it is reining in the ambitions of its in-house software division after numerous delays.
It's entirely possible that the Scout models could use Rivian software while being exactly the same size as the R1S and R1T.
However, the Scout models are expected to start at $40,000, making them significantly cheaper than Rivian’s vehicles. They will also pump out “only” about 300 horsepower, while the flagship R1S and R1T models have more than 1,000 horsepower.