Hear

Every year Volkswagen Africa have a media event in which media can ask questions and get feedback from the various players at VW.

They were originally styled as ‘off the record’ events and provided lots of background content for articles/reports during the ensuing year.

I have been attending these annual events since 2008 – representing MyPE and MyPR – and willingly reveal that I was always intimidated into silence by the heavyweight local motoring scribes in Bobby Cheetham and Bob Kernohan. Not because they were bombastic or anything negative but because they brought a respected and long pedigree to the party that I could only look at enviously.

Anyway – these two legends would always start the Question and Answer session with an enquiry as to when Volkswagen was bringing a small affordable bakkie to the local market – something to give the Nissan Champ bakkie a run for it’s money!

Well, they never got their wish so, when they both moved on, I felt a bit more confident and took a leaf out of their book by suggesting that Volkswagen should rather look at a rugged vehicle for AFRICA.

My thinking was along these lines:

A rugged no frills 4×4 vehicle like the Suzuki Jimny
It has to be Electric powered with Vehicle to Grid, Vehicle to Load and Solar Recharging capabilities
In this way the vehicle would fulfill most needs of African drivers – low running cost, simple, power to home/business, power to run a small business on the road and emergency charging.

Confession – I am involved with Straton Solar so have a bit of vested interest in promoting that side of the market.

Of course that Africa’s sales of VW vehicles is less than 1% of the global sales volume for Volkswagen AG could have a bearing on our local VW’s ability to be taken seriously when it comes to vehicle design and direction!

BUT – Volkswagen’s purchase of Scout has made me wonder if maybe someone at VW saw the Scout as an opportunity to develop an Africanised vehicle with just the capabilities outlined above. I like to think that maybe my suggestions were taken seriously – but who knows?

The International Scout was one of the early SUV pioneers in the US, marketed by International Harvester between 1961 and 1980.

The Scout’s comeback, in spirit at least, as an electric-only brand owned by Volkswagen, follows the German carmaker’s acquisition of truck manufacturer Navistar International in 2021.

It is the Traveler SUV offering from Scout that made me think about the Suzuki Jimny – if we sharpen those lines and straighten the rear.

Both the Scout Terra double cab pick-up and Scout Traveler SUV offer an 800-volt electrical architecture and the standard electric version has an estimated range of 560km between charges. However, Scout is also offering a range-extended model, with a petrol-powered generator that extends the range to around 800km.