Auto dealers are ready to go to war with Scout Motors over the new brand’s plan to sell directly to customers without using franchised retailers. Scout is also planning to build separate service centers, which are emerging a key part of the EV landscape.
Two years after Volkswagen announced plans to revive the long dormant Scout brand, we got a first look at the two new products it will be bringing to market. And there were some surprises, including news that the Scout Terra and Traveler models will be offered with a choice of all-electric and range-extended drivetrains. Headlight.News caught up with several of the brand’s top execs and reveals several other exciting details.
It’s been 44 years since the last Scout model rolled off the assembly line. But the reborn brand made its debut Thursday night, outlining plans to return with a pair of off-road-ready light trucks and a mix of all-electric and “range-extending” drivetrains. Potential buyers now can plunk down a deposit – but they’ll have to wait until 2027 to take delivery.
When Tesla finally delivered the first Cybertruck 11 months ago it missed the mark in a number of ways, starting with range. While CEO Elon Musk originally promised a version that would clock 500 miles per charge, its currently delivering a max 301 miles. To get close to the original target would require purchasing a range-extender battery, Tesla said. But that now is missing the mark, too.
In this week’s episode of the podcast, we discuss GM's latest court battle, the fire at Rivian's plant, and a surprise shakeup at struggling EV maker Polestar. We also review the 2024 Volvo EX90 before making a detour to take a look at This Week in Automotive...
Hoping to get it right after a botched launch of its original EV, Vietnamese start-up VinFast is ready to roll its second offering into U.S. showrooms. To increase the appeal of the three-row VF 9, VinFast has slashed the sticker price by more than $10,000 on the base model and $18,000 on the more lavishly equipped Plus package.
Rivian reports fire at its Normal, Illinois assembly plant. Fire damaged multiple EVs in a storage lot but it’s not known how many were destroyed by the blaze and whether it will affect deliveries of vehicles to consumers.
It was billed as an “interview” with presidential candidate Donald Trump but billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk used the Monday night event on social media service X to promote the benefits of EVs – those from Tesla, in particular. It’s no easy sell, at least to the former president’s followers.
Tesla has stopped taking orders for the $61,000 Cybertruck, making a $100,000 version of the electric pickup the new base offering. The move surprised many observers as demand appears to be falling well short of initial expectations – and comes just days after Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged Cybertruck may be overpriced.
EV maker Rivian beat its second quarter earnings estimates, but more importantly predicted it would be in the black for the first time ever in the final quarter of 2024. A series of cost cutting measures and changes to the way the company sells vehicles combined to make the second quarter a good one. Find out more at Headlight.News.
Online retailing will generate over $1.2 billion in revenues this year. And whether you’re buying from Amazon, WalMart, Target or countless other Internet retailers your package is likely to will make it to your doorstep in a delivery van. Increasingly, those vans are going electric as fleet operators seek low-cost solutions. Now, Ram is getting into the game with the new ProMaster EV. Headlight.News had a chance to take the rig for a run – without having to make any delivery stops.
It will be up to a California court to determine the outcome of a long-running suit pitting two EV manufacturers, Tesla and Rivian. The bigger of the two has accused its rival of stealing trade secrets and a judge has ruled the case will have to go to trial after Rivian filed to get it dismissed earlier this week.