Volkswagen AG is reviving its rugged Scout line of SUVs and pickup trucks — originally conceived as pure electric vehicles — as a brand of primarily gasoline-electric hybrids.

More than eight out of 10 consumers who put down a $100 reservation on a Scout have selected plug-in hybrid versions over EVs, according to the brand’s top executive. As EV demand waned in the U.S. last year, Scout added extended-range electric versions, or EREVs, which feature a gas-fueled internal combustion engine that automatically recharges the battery as the vehicle rolls down the road.

“The market clearly has spoken, without a doubt, and they like the EREV technology full stop,” Scott Keogh, Scout’s chief executive officer, said in an interview, noting that the hybrid can travel 500 miles on a tank of gas. “This is EV without the drama.”

VW acquired Scout Motors when it purchased Navistar, the successor company to the brand’s original parent International Harvester, in a deal that closed in 2021. On the heels of Ford Motor Co.’s successful resurrection of the Bronco SUV, VW sought to go one better with an electric version of the retro Scout.

Now Scout is pivoting to meet the moment as President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers have moved to end what he calls the “EV mandate” by eliminating a $7,500 consumer tax credit on EV purchases and effectively nullifying fuel-economy and emissions regulations. That has sent sales of gas-guzzling SUVs soaring, while EV sales are plunging in the U.S.

When Scout goes on sale in 2027, it will make something of a return to its mid-century roots as a gas-fueled sport-utility vehicle and pickup truck. VW is making a big bet on the classic American truck line, which ceased production in 1980, in a bid to finally become a significant player in the U.S. market.

Keogh said Scout is not lowering the roughly $60,000 starting price on its Traveler SUV and Terra pickup to make up for the loss of the consumer tax credit.

“I will not take $7,500 off the price of the car,” Keogh said. “And frankly, I don’t think we need to.”

Scout has received more than 130,000 non-binding reservations over the past year. Of those, about 73% have been for the SUV while just 27% have been for the pickup truck.

Electric pickups, including Tesla Inc.’s Cybertruck, have struggled to attract buyers because of concerns about depleting the battery while towing or hauling heavy loads. General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV have cut back on plans for electric trucks, while Ford is considering killing its F-150 Lightning plug-in pickup, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

Keogh didn’t rule out taking a similar action should the Scout pickup also struggle.

“Certainly, that’s something we could look at,” Keogh said of the possibility of canceling its pickup. “But we’re not making that decision now.”

The German automaker may also build its Audi luxury models alongside the hybridized Scout vehicles when its new $2 billion factory in South Carolina begins production in late 2027. Audi’s CEO has said recently the brand is considering a U.S.-centric SUV, which an Automotive News Europe report said would be built on the mechanical foundation of Scout’s SUV.

“We are capable of making products for other brands, so the platform is capable and the factory is capable,” Keogh said. “But I have actually nothing to confirm on Audi. Audi can give you that answer.”

Keogh contends Trump’s “America first” focus on building things in America plays to Scout’s strategy, which includes the recent announcement of a $300 million investment in a 200-acre supplier park that will adjoin its factory in Columbia, South Carolina. Keogh says Trump cutting the $7,500 consumer tax credit only hurts Scout for about four years since that incentive was previously set to expire in 2032.

“You don’t build a factory, start a brand, make the investments that we’re making based on money that may or may not be on the table for basically four years,” Keogh said. “There was no way that we were gonna make a 50-year decision based on that, because that’s what Scout is.”

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