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by constantcrying 726 days ago
Volkswagen is also currently building up a direct competitor to Rivian with Scout Motors.

What exactly is the goal here? Technology sharing for products?

3 comments

Auto groups often target the same market but at different price points with different brands. Audi sedans vs VW sedans for instance. My Jetta got a trickle down drive train from Audi which is one of the main reasons I looked at VW.

Are you sure that Scout is targeted at Rivian customers? Or at people who wish they could afford a Rivian and can't?

>Are you sure that Scout is targeted at Rivian customers?

Almost certainly. I don't think there is any point in making an EV truck for less than a Rivian R3.

Trucks are expensive and VW has never tried to compete at the absolute low end. To really undercut Rivian they would need an EV truck at 25k, which is a product which would absolutely suck.

>Trucks are expensive and VW has never tried to compete at the absolute low end.

Tell that to the rabbit pickup

> VW has never tried to compete at the absolute low end.

VW Golf?

Have you seen the prices for a golf?
I do not, no.
VW does a lot of joint ventures with competitors; the Ford Explorer EV is essentially an id.4, say.

I'd kind of wonder if VW is more interested in vans here, tho. They seem to have missed the boat on electric vans; it's all Merc/Citroen/Renault in Europe, and Rivian in the US. VW's only electric van is a cargo version of the id Buzz.

I can recommend looking up Options as a strategy. A well known approach, with clear benefits (and downsides ofc).
Sure, I get that. But I would think that they have a specific goal in mind.

One article claims they are interested in the platform, maybe they want that platform for Scout? The last "real" truck VW was a rebranded Ford F-150. It might not make a lot of sense to adapt their current MEB platform for a truck, as it has vastly different requirements compared to the usual VW car.