Scout and Travelall vehicles made by International Harvester were forerunners in both function and style of popular SUVs from the Detroit 3, such as the Ford Bronco and Chevrolet Suburban.
Harvester stopped building the Scout and Travelall in 1980, but Volkswagen’s Traton SE business acquired U.S. truck maker Navistar in 2020, which owns the Scout name.
Volkswagen has said reintroducing the brand is a key part of its strategy of achieving a collective 10 percent U.S. market share across all of its brands.
Separately, Audi CEO Markus Duesmann last week told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that the luxury brand is considering building a plant in the U.S. to take advantage of the subsidies offered through the Inflation Reduction Act. However, he said, a decision has not been made.
It was unclear whether VW Group will consider producing Scout and Audi vehicles from the same U.S. plant.
In March last year, VW Group announced it would invest at least $7.1 billion in North America through 2027 to build up its regional electric vehicle production capacity — including construction of a battery plant as well as overhauls of its assembly plant in Puebla and an engine plant in Silao, Mexico — and bolster interim internal combustion engine-powered production.
Automotive News contributed to this report.
