Scout Motors Chief Digs In On Direct Sales

The head of Volkswagen’s  Scout Motors unit insists legal actions by several dealers won’t thwart the automaker’s direct-to-consumer sales model.

“We have our plan. We’re executing our plan now. Going to continue to execute our plan,” Scout president and CEO Scott Keogh told members of the Automotive Press Association on Wednesday at the company’s suburban Detroit Innovation Center.

The company is currently accepting reservations through its website, but plans to eventually open its own stores.

To date, 160,000 reservations have been entered, although, Keogh points out reservations don’t always convert to sales.

The company is building a manufacturing facility in Blythewood, S.C., with an annual production capacity of about 200,000 vehicles, according to Keogh.

The first production vehicles are expected to roll off the line in 2028 in the form of the Traveler SUV, Keogh revealed.

Scout also plans to offer a pickup truck named the Terra.

So far reservations are running about 75 percent for the Traveler and 25% for the Terra, which Keogh said is “about what I expected,” given Scout’s heritage as an SUV company.

The brand is being revived by Volkswagen after former Scout parent company International Harvester folded the division in 1980 following a contract impasse with the United Autoworkers.

In its new life, Scout vehicles will be offered as pure EVs or extended range electric vehicles, or EREVs, which use a small gasoline-powered on-board generator to extend the range of the battery.

The driving range for EV versions of the Terra and Traveler is 350 miles, while EREV versions can travel 500 miles on a charge, according to the company.

So far about 80% of reservations are for the EREV, versus 20% for the EV, said Keogh, who labeled it a “50-state car,” appealing to customers regardless of geography, winning over consumers across the powertrain terrain from EVs, to plug-in hybrids to those currently driving internal combustion engine vehicles.

His key philosophy for conquesting customers from brands that are either retreating from electrified vehicles or those still considering one is what he defines at old world versus new world.

It’s basically giving customers the features they demand from so-called old world vehicles such as tactile switches, knobs and handles, sufficient ground clearance and body-on-frame with a solid rear axle together with new world features that include the 500-mile driving range provided by the EREV powertrain, zonal architecture with over-the-air updates and about 1,000 pound torque from the pure electric version.

“Of course, they want something that's efficient, but they still want the vehicle to be capable,” Keogh explained.

It’s a strategy  Cox Automotive executive analyst Erin Keating believes is sound, as Scout looks for its slice of a stagnant market.

“It's got to be conquesting every brand right now,” said Keating, who attended Keogh’s presentation. “We even know this year, in 2026, we're going after volume chasing when we know that the sales are actually going to be down at least. We're projecting that at Cox Automotive, that's the name of the game, and they have a compelling product.”

But it still comes down to just how Scout plans to sell its products, following a similar playbook as  Tesla Motors bypassing franchised dealers, selling directly to consumers.

Keogh acknowledges legal challenges to that strategy but argues the traditional sales route through franchised dealers is neither efficient nor cost effective.

“I think now, if you have the customer, data, and now that you have AI, and now that you have these modeling tools, you can be dramatically more efficient with every single car that you make and exactly where that car goes,” Keogh argued.

For a company that looks to be relatively low volume, it’s a model that could make sense, asserted Cox Auto’s Keating.

“The direct to consumer business, has proven to work, at least with these power trains and the new entrance in low volume,” Keating pointed out. “So even if it becomes like, hey, let's start with where we've been given permission, and work our way through it, maybe work through service stations or something like that in connection with dealers, maybe that will smooth things over. I don't know, but I have faith that they're going to probably take it to the limit.”

Keogh’s a high-energy guy with deep experience in the industry at Volkswagen and its Audi brand. He exudes total confidence and isn’t afraid to express it.

But when asked how he feels reviving Scout in a world much more complicated than it was during the brand’s first life, Keogh took a breath and admitted, “I'm an automotive executive, so you're eternally paranoid, and it's never enough, and it's never enough, and you always feel there's a freight train behind you, right behind you, every second. So you're running and you're panicking, you're sprinting, if I ever take action half a step off the track. I think the word would be a little pride mixed with a little bit of joy on that front.”

Indeed, it’s always risky scouting out new territory.

TTAC Creator Ed Garsten hosts "  Tales from the Beat," a podcast about the automotive and media worlds. A veteran reporter and public relations operative, Garsten worked for CNN, The Associated Press, The Detroit News, Chrysler's PR department and Franco Public Relations. He is currently a senior contributor for Forbes.

The TTAC Creators Series tells stories and amplifies creators from all corners of the car world, including culture, dealerships, collections, modified builds and more.

[Images: Scout Motors]

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