Report: Volkswagen’s Scout brand taps Magna Steyr to develop its electric truck, SUV

A recent report out of Austria states that local contract manufacturer Magna Steyr has been chosen by Volkswagen’s new all-electric truck brand Scout, to develop the latter’s first wave of vehicles. The order is reportedly worth nearly $500 million – potentially Magna Steyr’s biggest development contract ever.

Scout is the classic nameplate that’s origin dates back to the International Harvester Scout – an off-road vehicle from the ’60s and ’70s. Following rumors swirling in 2022 that Volkswagen Group was considering reviving the brand, the German automaker confirmed it would in fact return, but as an entirely-electric marque targeting a similar customer demographic as the Rivian R1 EVs.

Since then, we’ve only seen the teaser renderings of the potential Scout EVs, followed by news the vehicles would be built in the US at a new facility being erected in South Carolina.

In November of 2022, we reported that Scout was seeking a seasoned contract manufacturer to help bring its designs to fruition. The two names being discussed were Foxconn and Magna Steyr.

According to a recent report out of the EU, Magna Steyr appears to have been chosen as the developmental suitor by Scout and will help realize the nascent EV brand’s future in an increasingly competitive (and exciting) segment.

Magna Steyr to help Scout deliver flagship EVs by 2026

Local Austrian outlet Kleine Zeitung first broke the news that Scout has selected Magna Steyr as its development contractor, detailing a deal to help realize its first two EV models with an order volume worth 450 million euros ($491.8 million) transferred by parent company Volkswagen Group.

That amount is reportedly the largest development contract Magna Steyr has ever received.

To date, Magna Steyr has produced over 4 million vehicles across 31 different model designs, including the G-Class by Mercedes-Benz and the Ocean SUV for Fisker. In 2024, Graz will also take on production of the all-electric G-Wagon. Volkswagen Group also has a long running relationship with Steyr, contracting development of vehicles like the Audi TT.

The report states that development between Scout and Magna Steyr is already underway in both Graz, Austria and the US, while the former’s original target date of series production by late 2026 remains on track.

As we’ve mentioned in the past, the Scout brand decided to take production into its own hands on US soil and intends to do so in 2027 – targeting 150,000 EVs off its assembly lines that first year. Of those units, we should see a large SUV and a full-size pickup truck, each offering all-electric ranges up to 400 miles (650 km).

Looking ahead, we could see Volkswagen Group further expand its relationship with Magna Steyr through Scout’s platform technology and Audi’s aspirations to garner more of the US market with a more rugged model to compete against the Mercedes G-Series.

Perhaps Audi taps development help from Magna using Scout’s incoming platform and contracts the company to build the EU models in Graz? Makes sense, but that’s nothing more than speculation at this point.

What is clear however, is that Volkswagen Group has found a automotive veteran in Magna Steyr which should help move the development of Scout’s first two EVs along nicely. This will be an exciting journey to follow the next two years.