If the new Scout Motors is good at one thing, it’s keeping secrets.
When it revealed the Scout Terra pickup and Traveler SUV on Thursday its “one more thing” was that they’d be available with a range-extending system called the Harvester that uses a gasoline motor mounted at the rear as a generator.
Prior to that announcement, the Volkswagen-owned reboot was expected to be an all-electric automaker.
The feature will increase the total driving range of the trucks from 350 miles to 500 miles and allow for quick gas fill-ups on long trips or in locations where charging isn’t available.
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Details on the engine have not been revealed, but images suggest it will be very small displacement, as it will not have a mechanical connection to the wheels, which will only be powered by the electric motors.
Extended-range electric vehicles, or EREVs, like the Fisker Karma and BMW i3 have been done before and many see a lot of promise in the flexibility the technology brings to electrified vehicle ownership, especially for trucks.
The Ram 1500 Ramcharger coming next year uses the setup, but with a V6 engine that can provide enough power for the full-size pickup, which targets customers who tow long distances.
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Jeep will also offer the powertrain in the full-size Wagoneer lineup, which is larger than the Scouts, but it already sells plug-in hybrid 4xe versions of the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee that are more direct competitors and is adding a 4xe version of the Gladiator pickup in 2025. It’s a series hybrid that has a transmission that connects the gas motor to the wheels, however, and its all-electric range is 21-26 miles per charge, depending on the model, so it’s not exactly the same thing. Jeep will be launching the electric Recon SUV next year, however, and it’s likely a plug-in hybrid or EREV version will follow.
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But what about the Ford Bronco? It’s currently only available with turbocharged four-cylinder and six-cylinder engines and Ford doesn’t sell any plug-in hybrid trucks. At least not yet.
It does offer a plug-in hybrid version of the Ranger in other parts of the world with 28 miles of electric range and a turbocharged four-cylinder. It hasn’t been confirmed for the U.S., but Ford has said that it will have a hybrid version of every one of its vehicles here by the end of the decade. Considering the Bronco and Ranger are built on the same platform, you can pretty much bet both will have hybrid versions soon enough.
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Ford is also working on a Ranger-sized electric pickup with a price target of less than $40,000 that is currently scheduled to go on sale in 2027 just as the Scouts are coming to market, but hasn’t suggested if there will be a range-extended or hybrid version.