Scout Motors wants owners to be able to repair its electric trucks without visiting a dealership unless absolutely necessary. Now it’s providing more detail on how it plans to make that happen.
When it unveiled concept versions of the Traveler SUV and Terra pickup truck last October, Scout claimed that approximately 80% of repairs could be performed without a dealership visit. In an interview with The Drive at CES 2025 this week, Scout Motors Strategy Director Ryan Decker said that will be made possible by components that are easy to remove for repair or replacement.
Scout Traveler concept
“Maybe things aren’t glued, they’re screwed, right? Things should be more easy to repair yourself,” Decker said.
This approach was implemented during the design process, with Scout avoiding the “seamless and fused” look of many modern cars in favor of discrete bumpers and body panels that are more accessible, Decker explained, adding that easily removable bumpers make more sense for the Scout vehicles’ intended off-road use.
Scout Terra concept
Decker also promised “transparent” repair guides and manuals that will be easily accessible to customers, avoiding what he called the “black box” nature of other EVs. Just the willingness to let customers work on their vehicles is a big difference from Tesla’s initially negative attitude toward independent repair shops and customization.
Like Tesla, though, Scout intends to rely on a direct-sales model instead of franchised dealerships. That’s rankled franchisees of Scout’s parent company, Volkswagen, in California, who claim the move violates the state’s franchise laws because VW already relies on franchised dealerships for its other brands. For now, Scout is completing a $2 billion South Carolina factory with the aim of starting production in 2027.