Scout Working on Fix After Terra Pickup’s Tow Rating Could Drop 50%

Scout’s Tow Rating Problem

Electric pickup and SUV maker Scout Motors recently drew the ire of potential customers with the announcement that its pickup truck’s advertised tow rating could drop by 50 percent when equipped with a gasoline-powered range-extender. While this system increases overall range from 350 to 500 miles, the announcement that the Scout Terra pickup’s tow rating could drop from 10,000 lbs to about 5,000 lbs has not gone down well with prospective buyers, especially those with hauling or towing requirements. 

CEO Suggests Possible Fix in the Works 

Speaking at a recent industry event, Scout CEO Scott Keogh hinted that the company’s engineers are working on a solution to the towing limitations issue, giving fans of the rugged electric pickup some hope. He, however, declined to elaborate further with any technical details. Considering that about 87 percent of Scout’s 160,000 reservations so far are for extended-range variants of their Terra pickup and Traveler SUV, it seems like the company has no option but to come up with a solution. Both vehicles are positioned as rugged electric 4x4s and are expected to use body-on-frame construction with solid rear axles and mechanical locking diffs. 

Production Still a While Away

Despite this towing capacity debacle, Scout still has plenty of development time left to address this concern. Their electric 4X4s aren’t expected to hit production lines until later this decade, giving engineers plenty of time to refine the hardware and address capability concerns before actual customers get behind the wheel. 

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