VW-backed Scout brand to unveil Ford Bronco rival on 24 October

Scout, the Volkswagen-backed revival of 4x4 brand International Harvester, will reveal its first cars on 24 October.

The brand will unveil an electric rival for the Land Rover Defender and Ford Bronco, alongside a closely related pick-up to take on the Rivian R1T and Ford F-150 Lightning.

The high-riding 4x4 and pick-up will have retro-futuristic designs strongly inspired by the International Harvester Scout II, a Jeep Wrangler rival produced between 1971 and 1980. Preview images released by the company show the two models to have squared-off designs with vertically stacked tail-lights and kinked C-pillars. They will also wear chunky all-terrain tyres, although it’s possible that more road-focused set-ups will be offered as well.

The Scouts will be built at a new plant in South Carolina, US, using batteries and electronics supplied by Magna. They will be based on a new ladder-frame platform that’s said to be completely unrelated to the MEB and PPE architectures used for electric cars by its Volkswagen Group parent company.

As previously reported by Autocar, Audi is considering whether to use the Scout platform and factory for its own hardy electric 4x4.

The first Scouts will roll off the South Carolina production line in 2026 and the VW Group plans to gradually ramp up the factory’s output to 200,000 cars annually.

The VW Group announced its intention to revive the Scout brand two years ago, under then-CEO Herbert Diess.

“Electrification provides a historic opportunity to enter the highly attractive pick-up and [recreational] SUV segment as a group, underscoring our ambition to become a relevant player in the US market,” said Diess.

Notably, the VW Group has since announced an investment of up to $5 billion (£3.8bn) in Scout rival Rivian, which produces the similarly conceived R1T pick-up and R1S SUV. The deal gives the American EV firm critical funding for the development of the upcoming R2 SUV and R3 crossover, in exchange for its expertise in software-defined vehicles.