The electric Toyota LandCruiser and Ford F-150 rivals that might just come to Australia: Volkswagen's Scout Motors to reveal EV off-roader and ute next month

Scout Motors is gearing up to reveal its first two vehicles on October 24, 2024.

The American-based brand has been teasing a rugged off-roader and pick-up truck comeback since the name was acquired by the Volkswagen Group in May 2022. 

It has confirmed an all-electric large SUV based on a ground-up body-on-frame as a direct rival to the Toyota LandCruiser and Nissan Patrol, with a Scout pick-up likely having its eyes on the Ford F-150 or perhaps mid-size Ranger.

The vehicle’s names are not confirmed, but looking back to the Scout brand’s launch in 1960 it’s likely there will be simple numbers following the ‘Scout’ badging.

Ahead of the vehicle reveal, Scout has released numerous tasers, including design sketches and shadowy images. The latest website header shows what appears to be a roof-mounted compass in front of the windscreen.

Speaking to industry publication Automotive News, Scout CEO Scott Keogh confidently claimed production models will stay faithful to the initial teasers.

"It's gonna be a car with character… It's gonna be a car with a personality. It's gonna be a car that's not an optimised jelly bean," Keogh told the outlet in February at the South Carolina factory’s groundbreaking ceremony.

The new Scout is likely to heavily reference the Scout II in its final design, with a retro-aesthetic not unlike the new Toyota Prado and promised mini FJ Cruiser. American magazine CarAndDriver commissioned a render of the Scout SUV you can see here.

It will be baked onto an all-new EV-only body-on-frame platform, according to Keogh. "It's a completely unique platform — ground up being engineered and developed. The first thing we wanted to clear with this is to make sure this platform was credible.

"This is 100 per cent capable, American, robust, full platform,” he said. 

Keogh suggested there will be further applications for this platform in the future. Volkswagen and Ford have produced commercial vehicles together since 2022, bringing the Ranger/Amarok utes and Transit/Transporter vans into the world. 

Ford has announced plans to develop a fully-electric mid-size pick-up truck via its California 'skunk works’ division which could help amortise the development cost of Scout’s platform.

There’s also a Rivian tie-in, with Volkswagen announcing a A$1.5 billion investment in the American EV start-up for electrical and electronic architecture. This could manifest in Scout, as well as broader VW Group products. 

Production of Scout’s large SUV and pick-up is expected to begin in late 2026, and sales commencing shortly after.

The Scout name was born in 1960 as the light vehicle arm of International Harvester. The IH Scout, as it was known, was an alternative to the Jeep CJ. It also had to face up against the Ford Bronco upon that car’s release.

Between 1960 and the factory’s closure in 1980, IH produced around 500,000 Scout models, as either pick-up or SUV. They were famous for customisable appearance packages, including the Iconic Scout II with Rallye pack, that the new brand will look to rebirth. 

VW Australia has previously expressed interest in the Scout brand, with Commercial Vehicles Director Ryan Davies telling CarsGuide back in 2022 “If they determine they want to build a right-hand drive variant, I guarantee you I’ll be on a plane and straight over there to spruik the case for Australia, because it’s a pretty exciting product.”

Scout is focused first on left-hand-drive production and American deliveries come late 2026.