Scout Didn't Expect This: Nearly All Of Its 'Electric' Truck Buyers Want A Gas Engine

Scout Motors now has over 150,000 reservations. Nearly all want the range-extending gas engine.

Scout Terra Electric Pickup Truck

Photo by: Scout Motors

Tim Levin

By: Tim Levin

Updated: Jan 30, at 12:30pm ET

Add InsideEVs as a preferred source in Google

Comment

Scout has collected over 150,000 refundable reservations to date, the company said.
Roughly 85% of Scout Motors' reservations are for the extended-range "Harvester" versions, its CEO told InsideEVs.
Scott Keogh originally expected around 60% of reservations to be for the EREV, with the remaining 40% going to pure-EV versions.

Extended-range electric vehicles—EREVs for short—have become the latest buzzword in an auto industry trying to navigate a messy transition away from fossil fuels. Scout Motors made an early bet on the technology, which pairs a classic electric platform with a gas-powered generator that feeds extra energy to the battery pack during longer trips. Unlike in a conventional plug-in hybrid, the gas engine never powers the wheels directly.

And judging by the startup EV brand’s latest reservation figures, that move is paying off.

Roughly 85% of the company’s reservations to date are for extended-range variants of the rugged Terra pickup and Traveler SUV, Scout CEO Scott Keogh told InsideEVs in an interview. The other 15% are for pure-electric versions.

Scout Terra - Int - 1

Scout will sell both EREV and EV versions of its Terra and Traveler vehicles.

Photo by: Scout Motors

Since unveiling its first two vehicles in October of 2024, the independent Volkswagen subsidiary has collected over 150,000 refundable reservations, a company spokesperson said. Soon we’ll learn how well that early intent translates into real sales; Scout's debut vehicles are set to go into production at a new plant in South Carolina by the end of 2027.

Keogh said the interest in EREVs blew away his expectations.

“We felt very good about it,” he said. “Did I think it was 85/15? No. I thought it might be more 60/40, let’s put it that way.”

The strong demand for gas-extended versions means the company will "most likely" launch the EREVs first, Keogh said on stage at the BloombergNEF Summit in San Francisco this week, where InsideEVs caught up with him.

Scout Traveler Electric SUV

Scout's first vehicles will hit streets in late 2027.

Photo by: Scout Motors

Scout began debating range extenders in the summer of 2023, Keogh told InsideEVs. His team looked at how EREVs were being received in China—where the powertrain type is booming—and considered the performance requirements for their vehicles. They also clocked the “noise” around range anxiety and charging that was repelling buyers from EVs, despite the qualities people love about them.

“We said, boy, this takes all that drama away,” he said.

That is the EREV promise in a nutshell. They aim to provide the best of both worlds: the quiet operation, cheap refueling and instant torque of an EV—plus the care-free road-tripping and towing you get in an internal-combustion car.

Keep up with the latest EV news. Sign up for our newsletters today!

back

Subscribe For more info, read our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use.

Scout’s “Harvester” EREV models—a throwback nod to Scout’s roots as an SUV under the International Harvester brand—will offer around 150 miles of electric range from a roughly 63 kilowatt-hour lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery pack, Keogh said. Thanks to a four-cylinder generator, total range is expected to clock in at 500 miles, more than just about every all-electric vehicle on the market.

Scout's says its EVs will offer around 350 miles of range. Its trucks will start at under $60,000, though Scout hasn't shared whether the EREV or EV will cost more.

The company didn’t pioneer the EREV. The now-discontinued BMW i3 was America’s last range-extended option, and the vehicles have been booming in China. But it was among the first automakers to say it’s bringing the technology to the U.S. market in the modern EV era. Now, as demand for EVs softens in the U.S. and as regulations driving EV sales vanish, several automakers are adding the powertrain to their roadmaps.

Ford is planning for the next-generation F-150 Lightning to feature a range-extender. Ditto for the upcoming electrified Jeep Grand Wagoneer and Ram 1500 truck, both hitting streets this year. Hyundai and Kia also have EREVs on the way. Apart from the reservations, that trend has provided Keogh a little extra validation that Scout is on the right path.

What do you think?

View

Comments

“We felt good about it, and we still do obviously feel good about it. We feel better about it now, because, let's be honest, when you're all alone, you feel good, but you're still a little bit alone,” he said. Now that others have made similar announcements, he said, “it's like, okay, yeah, people are jumping in.”

Contact the author: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com

We Think You'll Enjoy...

The 2027 Acura RSX: Everything We Know

Here's How Much Range EVs Really Lose After 150,000 Miles

Tesla's Fastest-Growing Business Isn't Cars Anymore—Or Even Robots

The Tesla Model S And X Are Dying Next Quarter To Make Room For Robots

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Insideevs.com?

Take our 3 minute survey.

- The InsideEVs team

Share this Story