Scott Keogh is named as the new CEO of Scout, an electric truck and SUV spin-off company owned by German automaker Volkswagen.
The former head of Volkswagen America group Scott Keogh has pushed Volkswagen to start a new electric truck line after seeing a fully restored vintage Scout, according to The Verge.
In the 1960s, Scout competed with Land Rover, Ford Bronco, and Jeep models until the company shut down its production in 1980. However, Volkswagen acquired the Scout brand through a 2020 merger of its commercial trucking company Traton with Navistar, which the German automaker initially bought part of in 2016.
In May, it was reported that Volkswagen Group is investing $1 billion into the newly acquired brand Scout.
The company has set goals to sell a quarter million electric off-roaders under the name annually starting in 2026.
Pablo Di Si will now head the responsibilities of the Volkswagen America board in Chattanooga, Tennessee, “It is time now to concentrate more on the US market and the US customer, and one piece of the puzzle, for sure, is Scout,” Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess told Axios in an interview.
VW has said it would develop “True Americana electric SUVs and pickup trucks, according to the report, as it attempts to restore a reputation that took a hit from the “Dieselgate” emissions scandal.
Volkswagen hopes that Scout will be the answer to double its 5 percent US market share of electric vehicles under new leadership; the automaker hit an obstacle this year after selling out of all its EV offerings — ID.4 and Audi E-trons included — for 2022.