VOLKSWAGEN Group could kind a three way partnership with Taiwanese smartphone maker Foxconn Expertise Group (FTG) to revive VW’s Scout off-road model in the US.
In response to a report revealed by Automobilwoche, the German automotive big is in talks with Foxconn to start producing the automobile on the former Normal Motors facility in Lordstown, Ohio.
The information comes simply months after VW stated it had deliberate to revive the dormant Scout model, and simply weeks following the revealing of FTG’s personal EV prototypes, one in all which was a mid-size pick-up truck.
Moreover, Volkswagen is claimed to be in talks with Austrian-based Magna Steyr – which is contemplating opening its personal plant in the US – in a transfer Automobilwoche sources say might see the Scout produced inside the USA.
Whereas Volkswagen didn’t touch upon the potential of a partnership with FTG straight, a VW Group spokesperson informed Automobilwoche that it’s happy with the progress of the model’s growth.
“We’re very happy with the progress the Scout crew is making and with the passion it’s already producing amongst present followers – and future prospects,” stated the spokesperson.
In Could, Volkswagen Group formally introduced that it meant so as to add the Scout moniker to its rising steady, giving it a much-needed foothold within the North American four-wheel drive SUV and utility section.
Manufacturing of the mannequin vary is predicted to start in 2026.
To not be confused with the Skoda Very good and Octavia Scout all-terrain wagons, the brand new model harks again to Worldwide Harvester Scout, a cool two-door Ford Bronco rival that was produced between 1961 and 1980.
Volkswagen acquired the model in 2020 when its Traton truck division bought heavy truck and engine maker Navistar, which was established in 1985 after Worldwide Harvester folded.
The Scout identify provides off-road credibility towards the big-three Detroit car-makers, which nonetheless dominate their native 4×4 SUV, pick-up and light-weight truck markets, and can present a longtime different to off-road EV start-ups comparable to Rivian.
In Could, then Volkswagen Group CEO Herbet Diess stated the Scout model would allow the corporate to strengthen its place in one of the vital vital development markets for EVs.
“Electrification supplies a historic alternative to enter the extremely enticing pick-up and R-SUV (rugged SUV) section as a gaggle, underscoring our ambition to develop into a related participant within the US market,” he stated.
Additional, and in response to Volkswagen Group CFO Arno Antlitz, the brand new firm will set up itself in 2022-23, working as a separate unit and model.
It is going to even be managed independently.
Scout fashions will likely be designed, engineered, and manufactured within the US for North American prospects on a brand new, but to be unveiled platform idea – it’s unclear if the brand new underpinnings will likely be in-built partnership with Ford, which just lately introduced it would introduce a second EV mannequin based mostly on the Volkswagen’s MEB battery-electric platform.
The primary Scout prototypes will likely be unveiled in 2023 with manufacturing slated to begin in 2026.
