Scout customers have spoken: EREVs dominate EVs

Volkswagen’s revival of the Scout brand has received a mostly warm reception, even though the upcoming Terra pickup and Traveler SUV will stick with electric power—as opposed to the large Sixes and V8s of the old-school Scouts.

Production of the new Scouts is expected to begin in 2027, but reservations are already open for the vehicles. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, CEO Scott Keogh revealed that one particular powertrain choice is dominating reservations.

Range-Extender Powertrain Proves Popular

Although electric pickups are generally far quicker and more refined than gas-powered versions, using them for towing or hauling heavy loads has a significant impact on range. For this reason, Scout announced the "Harvester" range-extender option for the Traveler and Terra, which uses a gas engine as a generator to charge the batteries. This allows for a range of around 500 miles, and the option has proven hard to resist, based on initial reservations.

“The market has spoken,” said Keogh. “Over 80% of the reservations are the range-extender. The demand for the car is phenomenal.”

The CEO confirmed that there are currently over 130,000 reservations for the new Scouts, so 80% of that means that roughly 104,000 reservations are for the range-extender model. Keogh says that while the production facility will respond to customer demand, both models (including the standard, non-range-extender) will be developed in parallel.

An SUV and Pickup Built to Work

The new Scouts are designed for hard work, and that’s demonstrated throughout the vehicles’ design. They feature a body-on-frame chassis, a solid rear axle, and front/rear mechanical lockers. The Terra has a projected towing capacity of over 10,000 pounds, better than the Traveler’s projected 7,000 lbs, and both will have a maximum payload of close to 2,000 lbs. Furthermore, Scout will be installing physical switches and controls as far as possible, further underlining the rugged and back-to-basics approach of the new models.

They’ll be as quick as the best electric pickups, though, with an anticipated 0-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds, thanks to almost 1,000 lb-ft of torque. While standard models will have a range of around 350 miles, the range-extender versions will get up to 500 miles. Scout hasn’t yet specified the technical details of the gas engine that will function as a generator, but we do know it’ll be a four-cylinder mill.

Whereas retail prices for standard models will start at under $60,000, the range-extender models are expected to be quite a bit pricier, so it remains to be seen how many of those roughly 104,000 reservations will translate into actual sales when the vehicles arrive.

EREVs Gaining Prominence

Extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) are steadily becoming more common, as these vehicles still operate as EVs primarily, but without the range anxiety. The tech is increasingly being applied to larger, heavier vehicles, where maintaining a long range is more challenging without equipping a huge, heavy battery. The Ram 1500 Ramcharger and upcoming Jeep Grand Wagoneer are other examples of larger vehicles with similar powertrains, with Jeep touting a Scout-rivaling 500-mile range for this particular Grand Wagoneer. Kia is also considering a range-extender option for the next Telluride.

However, Scout’s reservations represent the first time we can recall seeing such a gulf between orders for a normal EV relative to a range-extender version. If Scout can get the pricing right and keep the weight low enough, the Terra and Traveler could be the best adverts yet for EREVs.