volkswagen seems to be looking for outside help in its relaunch of the Scout brand for an all-electric pickup truck and SUV for the US market.
Sources said Automobilwoche the German automaker is in talks with Foxconn – the most famous contract manufacturer for the production of Apple’s iPhone – on the manufacture of the Scout range.
The German trade publication believes Volkswagen is also in talks with Magna-Steyr, which produces the Fisker Ocean and Jaguar I Pace VE at its factory in Graz, Austria.
If Volkswagen decides to go with Foxconn, it will benefit from American production of the Scout. Under the rules of the infrastructure bill recently passed by the Biden administration, electric vehicles produced in the United States that have enough local components can be sold with federal tax credits that reduce the purchase price by up to at US$7,500 ($11,500).
The automaker has neither confirmed nor denied the accuracy of the report.
“We are very pleased with the progress the Scout team has made and the enthusiasm it is already generating among current fans and future customers,” a Volkswagen spokesperson said. Automobilwoche.
Volkswagen came into possession of the Scout’s name in 2021 when its Traton truck division purchased Navistar, the parent company of International Harvester, the company that built the Jeep-style Scout utilities and SUVs from 1961 to 1980.
Foxconn currently owns and operates an automotive plant in Lordstown, Ohio.
It started life as a GM factory, producing some of the company’s smaller models, including the Chevrolet Cavalier, Cobalt and, finally, the Cruze. It was sold in 2019 to EV startup automaker Lordstown Motors, with GM loaning Lordstown around US$40 million ($62 million) to help finance the purchase.
After Lordstown ran into financial difficulties, it sold the facility to Foxconn in 2021 for US$230 million ($360 million). Foxconn began production of the Lordstown Endurance EV pickup in September this year.
The first member of the Scout line, an electric ute, is set to come into production in 2026. It won’t be based on the existing MEB architecture that underpins the likes of the Volkswagen ID.3, ID. 4, and ID. Buzz, as well as Cupra Born, Audi Q4 e-tron and Skoda Enyaq.
The Scout ute and SUV will be based on the R-SUV’s “new technical platform concept”, but Volkswagen has yet to provide further details on the architecture.
It’s unclear whether talks between Volkswagen and Foxconn extend to platform sharing.
The Taiwanese company unveiled plans to expand its automotive contract manufacturing business in 2020 when it previewed a modular EV architecture that could be used by new and existing brands.
She has since launched the Brand Foxtronwith the first vehicle, the Model C crossover, set to go on sale in Taiwan from the second half of 2023. It will be followed by the smaller Model B crossover and the larger Model V pickup truck.
AFTER: Scout 2026 – Volkswagen teases the electric off-roader
AFTER: Forgotten nameplates — Scout