Scout Motors

The Volkswagen Group’s revived Scout Motors brand is really gaining the attention of folks who have been on the fence about buying an electric vehicle. Specifically, the automaker’s soon-to-come truck lineup with a gas range extender is appealing to a whole new group of buyers.

Scout expects to begin production of its first South Carolina-made vehicles in late 2027. Now we’ve learned that Scout has released its first test mules onto the world—and they’re getting a lot of positive reviews from executives and engineers who are getting some real seat time in the near-production models.   

Welcome back to Critical Materials, your daily roundup for all things electric and tech in the automotive space. Also on deck: automakers still haven’t made measurable amounts of money from data, and BMW considers gas-powered range extenders for its EVs. Let’s jump in.

30%: Scout’s First Test Mules Are Hitting The Streets

Scout Traveler 2025 LA Auto Show

Photo by: Scout Motors

After years of planning, PowerPoint presentations, rendering and welding, the brand has finally progressed to the rubber-to-road phase of things.

Scout confirmed this week that it actually has some real-world test mules out on the road—meaning that it’s officially entered that critical validation stage between initial development and fully-fledged product.

And while they decline to say what powerplant is under the hood (whether it be fully-electric or bolstered by the extremely popular gasoline-powered range extender), the execs are still calling the first drives of the new products a “super special moment” in the company’s history.

Here’s what the executives tell Automotive News:

As the manufacturing site comes together, Scout engineers, and executives such as [Ryan Decker, Scout’s VP of strategy and brand], are putting early prototypes through the wringer.

“I drove my first mule a few weeks ago,” Decker said. “Super special moment. It’s dynamic for a vehicle that has our capability.” 

[…] “We have several generations of test mules that are driving around,” [said Scout’s VP of Commercial Operations, Cody Thacker]. “They look like Frankenstein vehicles, but we are now validating on real drive dynamic, chassis dynamic, suspension dynamic, traction control. These things are getting dialed in. The software is coming to light.”

The software Thacker is talking about is, of course, developed by the joint venture between Rivian and Volkswagen.

This software is yet another example of how Scout and Volkswagen will leverage mutually beneficial parts sharing between the companies. For Scout, it means borrowing batteries from Volkswagen’s PowerCo subsidiary and leveraging the German automaker’s grasp on parts availability and pricing to help drive down the cost of its entry-level model below $60,000. In turn, Audi is rumored to use the Scout platform (and factory) to build a large SUV tailored to U.S. customers. 

For now, Scout is continuing to tweak little details here and there on the Traveler and Terra. Its final production form will be shown eventually—Scout’s Chief Design Officer declined to say when. However, Scout plans to begin production in its South Carolina factory late next year.

“We’ll start actually making stuff in that factory by the end of 2026,” said Decker.

60%: Automakers Have Been Trying To Make Money On Data For A Decade

Volkswagen ID Software 3.0

About 10 years ago, automakers had an epiphany: those connected cars that they’re building? They’re all data gold mines. And if Silicon Valley is raking in the profits with user data, so can car companies. After all, they have a physical product that millions of people worldwide use every day.

No wonder it puts dollar signs in the eyes of car executives everywhere. Digital subscriptions, connected ecosystems and a magical new income stream that would free them from the hell that is single-digit-percentage margins. Finding the right way to monetize data would be like striking oil, but it’s now a decade later and car companies are still digging.

Just ask Mark Fields, who was Ford’s CEO a decade ago and an early data evangelist. “I wish I would have known then what I know now,” Fields told Automotive News recently.  “I saw the tech enablers. We were looking at creating an ecosystem outside of selling and servicing vehicles, and if there were some new revenue streams that were incremental to the business, that would be a good thing.”

Fields says that he “drooled” over the profit margins that software companies were able to achieve. In 2025, things are even better, as software and SaaS outfits have an extremely low Cost of Goods Sold (which means fantastic profit margins reaching upwards of 80% for some SaaS companies with very little upfront capital requirements). Meanwhile, Ford’s EBITA margin in Q3 was just 5.1%.

The auto industry’s slow Western model cycle also added to the complexity. And despite automakers “rushing” to move into the digital age, it did so slowly and still managed to cause a privacy nightmare. Fields explained:

“Progress was slow,” Fields said. “It took quite a long time to transition vehicles to having modems. And we didn’t initially take into account the privacy and regulatory concerns, both in the U.S. and Europe.” Privacy remains an overriding concern. A decade ago, 73 percent of Americans trusted technology companies, according to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer. That stands at 63 percent this year.

Data security continues to haunt the industry, even as companies such as Tesla have proved that customers crave higher levels of connectivity. But major automakers remain circumspect about how they might use owner data to generate revenue.

S&P Global Mobility says that connected cars can generate more than 25 GB per hour of telematics data. Automakers have been split on how to monetize that data. On one hand, the data can be useful in determining what features in a car remain under-utilized and could be axed for a greater margin per unit. Or, perhaps over-utilized features are potentially an avenue for a subscription service.

Then you have automakers that monetized that data by selling it to brokers (who in turn sold it to insurance companies). Needless to say, what a company does with its customer data treads a fine line between profits and harsh critique.

90%: BMW Could Add Range Extenders To EV Lineup In China

Photo by: BMW

The EV range panic finally has an answer: range extenders. I know it seems like a hybrid with extra steps, but that’s not how those who have range anxiety see it. And now, some of the biggest names in the auto industry are seeing it in a similar light.

Insiders with knowledge of BMW’s global market have told Bloomberg that the Germans are considering electrified, extended-range versions of the automaker’s larger platforms. Initially, the plans would be for the Chinese market, but there’s nothing stopping the tech from going global if other markets show a demand. From Bloomberg:

The company may make range extender versions of top-end models such as the X5 SUV and 7-Series sedan as they’re large enough to incorporate a small engine, the people said, asking not to be identified as the deliberations are private.

BMW may become the first German automaker to offer the technology that’s not yet widely available in Europe.

Now, this might seem like an obvious move for BMW. After all, EVs with limited range aren’t for everyone—especially those towing, or living in (or traveling to) areas without ample DC fast charging. Extended Range EVs bridge that gap by giving all of the advantages of a battery-electric EV with the plus of extra range being constantly fed into the car’s high-voltage traction battery via an onboard gasoline-powered generator.

BMW is no stranger to range extenders. In fact, its decade-old BMW i3 REx was an early testament to the tech. Now, in 2025, U.S. companies like Scout are garnering attention with Extended Range EVs. It’s a perfect reason to revive something BMW has done before, and also potentially gather market share from one of its most important (and competitive) markets. More from Bloomberg on why:

BMW and its German peers are trying to revive sales in China after losing market share to local manufacturers led by BYD Co.

Range extenders have become popular in the world’s biggest car market and are also being rolled out in the US, where customers favor large SUVs and frequently take long trips. Especially BMW’s long-wheelbase variants sold in the US and China would be well suited for the technology, the people said.

Nothing is set in stone. If the rumor pans out, it could be BMW hedging its bets that the real luxury is not worrying about where the next charger is. And if things don’t work out in China, perhaps the U.S. might be the next best place to trial out the tech.

100%: Do You Worry About Your In-Car Data?

2026 Cadillac Optiq

Photo by: Patrick George

In the high-tech, electrified, connected future of cars, data could be priceless. Carmakers could know where you drive, where you charge, and what you do before, during and after all of those things, so they and various partners can tailor goods and services around what you desire. 

But you may not want that. In fact, the car industry has already seen a data privacy backlash or two. So how much does this really matter and what do you intend to do about it? 

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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