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If you’re excited about the reborn Scout Motors, you’re not alone. The South-Carolina-based Volkswagen subsidiary says it has more than 150,000 reservations for its upcoming Terra pickup and Traveler SUV, and enthusiasm has only increased since Scout announced that it was pivoting from an all-electric vision to embrace gasoline range-extenders. But that functionality supposedly was going to come with a caveat.
That makes sense, right? After all, the single most-cited obstacle to doing “truck stuff” (towing, hauling, pulling) with an EV is the resulting range penalty. Apart from cost, the availability of a range-extending generator should be all upside. Except a year ago Scout CEO Scott Keogh told Jay Leno with the Harvester range-extender powertrain the tow rating would drop 50% from 10,000 to 5,000 pounds in the Terra pickup. Naturally, as one would expect, the Internet went into an uproar from Reddit to forums. Today, we’re learning that Scout’s figured out a solution to its towing issue.
Details are slim, but during an Automotive Press Association event Motor Trend asked about the tow rating getting cut in half with the range-extender option. Keogh said, “I think we have the tool kit without a doubt. And we’ve got some solutions on that front, nothing I’m announcing now.”
Keogh refused to expand or explain what solution from the team’s “tool kit” would resolve the issue of cutting the range-extended powertrain’s tow rating in half, but the news gives buyers a new hope in terms of capability.
Based on the more than 2,700 confirmed reservations being tracked on the Scout EV forum, this will be relevant to more than 85% of of buyers. Only 13% of those raising their hand opted for the all-electric model.
Scout has leaned heavily into the truck-like qualities of its revived 4×4 nameplate. The Terra and Traveler will be body-on-frame EVs with solid rear axles and mechanical locking differentials. On the EV side, each offers an 800-volt architecture that should support high-throughput fast charging. Scout wants both trucks to offer 1,000 pound-feet of torque and hit 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds, while offering a minimum of 350 miles of range for the all-electric models. The “Harvester” range extender bumps the single-charge range to 500 miles, and of course, offers the convenience of quick fuel-ups.
Scout wants both models to offer 2,000 pounds of payload capacity (more than the Rivian R1T or R1S). The Traveler is expected to offer 7,000 pounds of towing, while the Terra would top 10,000 (R1S towing caps out at 7,700 pounds; the R1T at 11,000 pounds). Meanwhile, the Ram 1500 REV is aiming for 14,000 pounds of towing; whether that figure will come down with Ram’s own range extender remains to be seen.
All that said, there’s still plenty of time for things to change at Scout before production begins. Recent rumors suggest that won’t happen until 2028.
Note–This story was updated thanks to audio provided to The Drive from Scout from the event with Keogh’s exact words and answer to Motor Trend’s question. A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that Scout’s range-extended powertrain would drop tow ratings by 50%.
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Byron is an editor at The Drive with a keen eye for infrastructure, sales and regulatory stories.
