Volkswagen looks for new U.S. plant to build Scout-branded electric cars

According to foreign media reports, Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess (Herbert Diess) said on May 25 that the group plans to identify a new location in the United States this year to build a new plant that will be responsible for the production of Scout brand vehicles. Electric pickup and SUV models.Diess said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum that VW was evaluating "brownfields and some greenfields".

Volkswagen Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz also said the company would not rule out listing the Scout brand, but added that it was too early to make such a decision.Diess and other VW executives said Scout is part of a broader effort by the company to expand its presence in the U.S. market beyond passenger cars, where VW also wants to grow its commercial-vehicle business aggressively.

Image source: Volkswagen

Volkswagen's Scout program has sparked controversy among U.S. dealers because the company hasn't said how the vehicles will be sold in the U.S.On May 25, dealers, through the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) and state associations, asked VW executives for a response.

Robert Glaser, president of the North Carolina Auto Dealers Association, said this week that "VW's sudden decision to sell Scout-branded electric vehicles is very shocking and baffling" to the current dealer network.Dealers have been asking VW for the rights to sell Scout-branded models for years, but the company has never revealed how the cars will be sold.

In addition, Diess said he has seen a "significant improvement" in semiconductor supply and expects the company's globalproductionto recover for the rest of the year.He also revealed that disruptions to Volkswagen's supply chain in Ukraine are also easing.The situation in Russia and Ukraine temporarily halted the production of wiring harnesses and other components."The supply situation in Ukraine is now under control, and if nothing bad happens again, we won't lose much production," Diess said.

Antlitz revealed that Volkswagen plans to invest $7.5 billion over the next five years to strengthen its U.S. product lineup, including launching an electric pickup model in the country.Diess said he was confident VW could secure enough batteries to supply its electric vehicle production by 2025, but he thought some rivals could run into battery shortages.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares also warned on May 25 that automakers could face tight battery supplies in 2024-25.