Nearly three and a half years after Volkswagen Group announced the revival of the Scout brand, versions of the Traveler SUV and Terra pickup truck are rolling down a production line at a Scout Motors’ new factory in South Carolina, marking the start of the manufacturing validation process. This manufacturing milestone is part of Scout’s plan to begin customer deliveries in 2028.
Validation is one of the many phases that vehicles go through between starting life as a sketch on a napkin and customer sales. In Scout’s case, it’s focusing initial validation efforts on welding, painting, and general assembly at the new Blythewood, S.C. production center, which it only broke ground on in early 2024.
Production will likely expand as Scout gets closer to the Traveler and Terra’s 2028 on-sale date, but for now, the work at Blythewood allows employees to get up to speed with life on the assembly line, while the company can iron out any kinks in the engineering, buildability, or parts maturity at the new plant.
“Our equipment is coming to life, and our teams are building our first validation vehicles right here in the factory,” Scout Motors President and CEO Scott Keogh said, adding that the plant “is no longer a promise on paper.”
The Scout factory is only Volkswagen Group’s second U.S. manufacturing facility, joining the Chattanooga, T.N. plant that’s home to Volkswagen Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport production. Once it’s fully open and staffed by all 4,000-plus employees and 750-plus robots, Scout expects to produce 40 vehicles per hour in the body shop alone.
When can you buy a scout?
While validation work is underway in South Carolina, we’re still at least a year away from sales beginning. Scout is currently targeting 2028 for production, but late 2028 could mean we’re still waiting two years. Whenever production units finally arrive, the Terra truck and Traveler SUV should be be pretty darn tempting.
With body-on-frame construction, available front and rear lockers, and the kind of approach and departure angles that are built for the trail, Scout will be chasing after everyone from Ford Bronco loyalists to Toyota 4Runner and Jeep Gladiator fans. But unlike the competition, Scout is embracing two very interesting types of electrification. Customers will be able to choose from either a pure electric option with up to 350 miles of range, or go for a range-extended hybrid setup that leverages its gas engine as a generator, enabling 500 miles to a tank.
We’re still a long ways away from pricing for either the Traveler SUV or Terra truck, but we’d expect it to be competitive with the more rugged versions of the Bronco, 4Runner, Tacoma, Gladiator, and other rugged off-road-ready options.
