Scott Keogh named CEO of VW's electric truck, SUV spin-off 'Scout'

BERLIN: German automaker Volkswagen (VW) has named Scott Keogh as the new CEO to lead its electric truck and SUV spin-off company -- Scout.

According to The Verge, the former head of Volkswagen Group America pushed for Volkswagen to start a new electric truck line after seeing a fully restored vintage Scout.

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 willing to pump $1 billion into the new Scout brand and set goals to sell a quarter million electric off-roaders under the name annually starting in 2026.

With Keogh now leading Scout, Volkswagen's management board in Chattanooga, Tennessee, placed all Volkswagen North American responsibilities on current South American Volkswagen head Pablo Di Si. "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.

The company 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 per cent US market share of electric vehicles; the automaker hit a roadblock this year after selling out of all its EV offerings -- ID.4 and Audi E-trons included -- for 2022.