Volkswagen’s reborn Scout off-road brand a long shot for Oz

Volkswagen’s soon-to-be-revived Scout off-road brand is on the wish-list for Volkswagen Group Australia – but the company admits it’s a very (very) long shot.

The Scout brand was unexpectedly confirmed for revival by parent company Volkswagen in May and Australian executives are watching with interest as the off-road-focused brand works towards a relaunch with two new electric vehicles in 2026.

But the American brand has a singular focus on the US for now.

“The Scout’s American-focused – it’s left-hand drive at this point only,” says Volkswagen Australia commercial vehicles director Ryan Davies, who acknowledged there’s little chance of seeing the Scout brand Down Under in the short to medium term.

But he’s leaving the door open, which is no surprise given the market Scout is targeting – large pick-up trucks and SUVs – and what Aussies love driving.

“I think there’s plenty of scope [for Scout in Australia],” he added.

“From what we can see is that they would have good application here in Australia and should they decide to go to right-hand drive I think Volkswagen Australia would be incredibly interested.”

Of course, the big elephant in the small Scout room right now is that the steering wheel will only be on the left.

The imminent Scout revival was announced by Volkswagen earlier this year, with then-CEO Herbert Diess saying “electrification provides a historic opportunity to now enter the highly attractive pick-up and R-SUV segment as a Group, underscoring our ambition to become a relevant player in the US market”.

The cars will be designed and built in the US for the North American market.

But, again, Davies is keeping the Scout door ajar.

“If they determine that they want to build a right-hand drive variant I guarantee I’ll be on a plane straight over there to spruik the case for Australia because that’s a pretty exciting product.”

It’s understood Scout’s focus is on the American market for at least five years, but that after that Volkswagen may be open to considering global opportunities.

Of course, one opportunity to get Scout here would be for an aftermarket conversion from left- to right-hand drive.

Australia has a thriving industry that already converts the RAM 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado from left- to right-hook and Volkswagen already has a relationship with the Walkinshaw Group, which performs those conversions (WG produced the W580S and W580X versions of the Amarok and is expected to build more Amarok variants in future).

Ford will start selling a locally converted version of its popular F-150 from mid-2023 and Walkinshaw has already started producing RHD prototypes of the Toyota Tundra, which is likewise expected to be sold through the brand’s local dealer network.

The EV-only nature of Scout models – which are expected to be based on a skateboard architecture – also theoretically makes it easier to ‘remanufacture’ vehicles with the steering wheel on either side.

All of which means nothing for now. Scout has a mountain ahead of it as it tries to re-establish the brand in the US before manufacturing starts there in 2026.

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