The Scout Traveller and Terra are Now Expected to Launch in Late 2028 and Early 2030, Respectively

• The extended-range version will come out before the fully-electric models.

• This change of plans is reportedly the reason for the latest delays.

• The first pre-production test vehicles could be manufactured late this year.

Scout Motors recently delayed the start of production of its Traveler SUV and Terra pickup to at least the middle of 2028, but it now looks like reservation holders will need to wait even longer.

Indeed, Sam Fiorani, Global Vice President of vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, believes that the Traveler will enter production in September 2028 while the Terra won’t start rolling off the assembly line until March 2030.

Given that Scout Motors’ CEO confirmed that 87% of the more than 160,000 reservation holders chose the “Harvester” extended-range powertrain, it is no surprise that this variant of both models is expected to come out first.

Since this range-extender was initially planned to join the lineup at a later date, this change of plans is reportedly one of the factors that have delayed the new brand’s launch.

While the factory, which is currently being built in Blythewood, South Carolina, will have the capacity to build over 200,000 vehicles per year, Fiorani expects the Traveler to account for only about 40,000 units per year and the Terra for a further 35,000 units.

These relatively low expected sales numbers are explained by a competitive market and an as-yet unknown customer appetite for extended-range electric vehicles (EREV), towards which a number of automakers are turning in the face of reduced demand for full EVs.

In order to maximize the utilisation of its factory, Scout Motors is reportedly open to act as a contract manufacturer for other automakers, especially sister brands from the Volkswagen Group.

Despite being backed by Volkswagen, Scout Motors is acting as a start-up automaker, sharing very little with other brands in its corporate family.

This business model, in addition to a desire to launch to market with well-established, competitive products, can explain why the young automaker is not in a rush to begin deliveries of its truck and SUV.

Once they do become available, AutoForecast Solutions expects the Terra and Traveler to remain on the market mostly unchanged over a long, nine-year product cycle.

While electric pickup trucks were in high demand a few years ago, the tide seems to have turned, since about 70% of the reservations received by Scout Motors are for the Traveler SUV, which justifies the company’s plan to launch this model first.

Scout Motors’ CEO, Scot Keogh, previously said that a few dozen pre-production test vehicles will be manufactured late in 2026, while 2027 will be dedicated to fine-tuning the production process and building a few more test vehicles.

We don’t know if this plan is still on track or if it will be pushed forward given the expected delay in the start of full-scale production.

Source: Automotive News