Audi Plans New Made-In-America SUV Based On Upcoming Scout Traveler

Audi has struggled more than its German rivals—BMW and Mercedes—who are insulated to a degree from the machinations of the current administration, thanks to decades of investment into U.S domestic production footprints. Audi’s solution is a new SUV developed specifically for American buyers and assembled at a facility that, until recently, had nothing to do with the four-ringed brand.

Rather than invest in its own means of production, German publication, Automobilewoche, reports Audi will lean on Scout Motors, the revived American off-road nameplate that now lives under the Volkswagen Group umbrella.

Scout’s new factory in Blythewood, South Carolina, is scheduled to begin operations in late 2027, building the Scout Traveler SUV and Terra pickup. Audi’s project will slot into the same production line, using the rugged body-on-frame ladder architecture developed for Scout’s vehicles.

Audi has spent decades engineering unibody crossovers with a premium road-biased character, while the new model is expected to adopt a ladder-frame layout with proper four-wheel-drive hardware, including locking differentials. While Audi hasn’t detailed the vehicle itself, the company is believed to be positioning it against other premium off-road SUVs that have found an eager American audience over the past decade. It sounds like the vision is almost an Audi-developed Mercedes G-Wagen or Land Rover Defender.

Scout is developing both fully electric and range-extender powertrains, but most customer reservations so far have leaned toward the latter.

For Audi, a range-extender setup offers a way to deliver long-distance capability—about 500 miles in Scout’s case—without relying on an oversized battery at a moment when charging infrastructure remains uneven across much of the U.S.

The move also reduces Audi’s reliance on vehicles shipped from Europe and Mexico, where tariffs have compressed margins. Audi is seemingly acknowledging that its U.S. sales trajectory will not improve without something designed specifically for American tastes and built closer to where those customers live.

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