According to a report in an Austrian newspaper, Magna International’s Magna Steyr division is creating the revived Scout vehicles for the Volkswagen Group.
According to individuals acquainted with the situation, the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung reports that VW has placed a 450 million-euro ($492 million) order with Magna Steyr to create the models. The company currently assembles the G-Class for Mercedes-Benz in Graz, Austria, and helped develop the Ineos Grenadier SUV.
In an effort to increase sales in North America, Volkswagen is bringing back the venerable Scout name. By the end of 2026, production of Scout vehicles, which will include an electric pickup and SUV, is anticipated to start. VW plans to sell 250,000 Scout vehicles a year in America.
According to the article, the Scout deal is Magna Steyr’s largest development contract to date.
Magna engineers in Graz and the U.S. are already working on development, according to Kleine Zeitung. Scout opened its first South Carolina office in Columbia’s Bull Street District earlier this month. In March, VW announced plans to construct a Scout assembly plant in Blythewood, close to Columbia, South Carolina. The plant’s location is approximately 350 miles east of VW’s Chattanooga, Tennessee, manufacturing site. Volkswagen announced its revival of the Scout brand as an electric vehicle manufacturer in May 2022.
In July 2022, Scout appointed Scott Keogh, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, as its President and CEO. Volkswagen Group of America named Pablo Di Si, who is also Executive Chairman of Volkswagen South American Region, with running its American operations.
The Scout name was first used by International Harvester for its 1961 International Scout SUV, and competed with the Jeep CJ and Ford Bronco. The model survived until 1980. In 1986, International was reorganized, its truck operations continuing under the new corporate name Navistar. Volkswagen Group inherited the Scout name in 2020, when it acquired Navistar International for $3.7 billion through its heavy-truck unit Traton.
