VW’s Scout hires key RAM, Jeep designer to lead rugged electric truck and SUV efforts
The re-emergence of Scout Motors in the electric era just became significantly more interesting. On Tuesday, Scout revealed it hired Chris Benjamin, a key Stellantis designer who crafted the interior style of some of the latest Jeep and Ram models, to lead the design of its rugged, all-purpose electric truck and SUV.
Scout Motors hires key Jeep, Ram designer to lead EV rollout
Benjamin will join the brand as Chief Design Officer, or “the steward of the iconic Scout design,” according to the company.
He will oversee the interior and exterior design, concept development, user experience, and the integration of design and tech into the Scout Motors brand.
“For nearly 25 years, he’s brought to life vehicles that stand out on the road,” said Scout Motors CEO Scott Keogh. Benjamin began his career as a designer with Mercedes-Benz in 1999, moving to BMW, Volvo, and eventually Stellantis.
Most recently, Benjamin was director of interior design for Jeep, Wagoneer, Chrysler, RAM, and Dodge before becoming vice president of interior design at Stellantis in July 2022.
Keogh added during the press release:
His thumbprints are all over many of the most beloved off-road vehicles in the market today. I’m confident that Chris will build on that experience as he defines the next chapter of design for Scout and electric utility vehicles.
Benjamin says he has “been fortunate in my career to shape many off-road focused products that appeal to a broad range of Americans,” adding:
Classic Scout vehicles have always exerted a magnetic pull on me. They created the archetype for the modern SUV in the ‘60s and proved that a daily driver could also be a weekend adventurer.
With its new designer, who played a critical role at Jeep and RAM, Scout Motors plans to accelerate the development of its electric truck and SUV.
The new electric rugged pickup and SUV brand in the US
The Scout Brand traces back to its origins in the early 1960s when the International Harvester Corporation (IHC) introduced its first model.
Scout’s compact four-wheel drive vehicle quickly became the first real competitor to the famed Jeep brand. Before the Ford Bronco and Chevy Blazer were introduced, Scout is credited with creating the SUV of the 60’s that’s morphed into what we see on the roads today.
Despite the brand’s success, its parent company struggled financially, leading to a business overhaul, including changing its name to Navistar.
Volkswagen acquired rights to the Scout brand in 2021 after its trucking division (Traton Group) merged with Navistar.
After rumors swirled that VW was looking to resurrect the brand, the German automaker confirmed it would convert Scout into an off-road EV company in the US with a new rugged electric pickup and SUV.
Benjamin said after being appointed chief designer at Scout:
My task now is to balance the iconic design language of the past with all of the innovative possibilities that electrification unlocks. With the base of inspiration that Scout offers, what we’re dreaming up will be beyond special.
Scout revealed earlier this year it would build its first manufacturing plant in South Carolina with over 200,000 annual vehicle production capabilities at full capacity.
The first electric vehicles from Scout are scheduled for production by the end of 2026.
Electrek’s Take
With Scout Motors targeting some of Stellantis’s biggest sellers in the US in Jeep and RAMs off-road models, Benjamin can play a crucial role in guiding the production ramp.
After several years of helping develop off-road vehicles in the US, Benjamin knows what those consumers want in a vehicle. The resurrection of Scout will be an exciting story to watch play out as it takes on some of Ford, Jeep, RAM, Chevy, and GMC’s top-selling models in the US.
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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies during a remote video hearing held by subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee on “Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation” in Washington, U.S., March 25, 2021.
Handout | Via Reuters
Block jumped more than 5% on Monday, leading a rally in shares of fintech companies as analysts downplayed the threat of JPMorgan Chase’s reported plan to charge data aggregators for access to customer financial information.
The recovery followed steep declines on Friday, after Bloomberg reported that JPMorgan had circulated pricing sheets outlining potential fees for aggregators like Plaid and Yodlee, which connect fintech platforms to users’ bank data.
In a note to clients on Monday, Evercore ISI analysts said the potential new expenses were “far from a ‘business model-breaking’ cost increase.”
In addition to Block’s rise, PayPal climbed 3.5% on Monday after sliding Friday. Robinhood and Shift4 recorded modest gains.
Broader market momentum helped fuel some of the rebound. The Nasdaq closed at a record, and crypto rallied, with bitcoin climbing past $123,000. Ether, solana, and other altcoins also gained.
Evercore ISI’s analysts said that even if JPMorgan’s changes were implemented, the most immediate effect would be a slight bump in the cost of one-time account setups — perhaps 50 to 60 cents.
Morgan Stanley echoed that view, writing that any impact would be “negligible,” especially for large fintechs that rely more on debit, credit, or stored balances than bank account pulls for transactions.
PayPal doesn’t anticipate much short-term impact, according to a person with knowledge of the issue. The person, who asked not to be named in order to speak about private financial matters, noted that PayPal relies on aggregators primarily for account verification and already has long-term pricing contracts in place.
While smaller fintechs that depend heavily on automated clearing house (ACH) rails or Open Banking frameworks for onboarding and compliance may face real pressure if the fees take effect, analysts said the larger platforms are largely insulated.
WATCH: Congress moves to redraw $3.7 trillion crypto market rules, opening door to Wall Street
The global EV market is still charging ahead. According to new numbers from global research firm Rho Motion, 9.1 million EVs were sold worldwide in the first half of 2025, up 28% compared to the same period last year. But not every region is accelerating at the same pace.
China and Europe are doing the heavy lifting
More than half of the world’s EVs this year have been bought in China. That market hit 5.5 million sales in the first six months of 2025 – a 32% jump year-over-year. Around half of new cars bought in China are now electric.
While some Chinese cities’ subsidies have dried up, Rho Motion expects momentum to pick back up later in the year as more funding is released.
In Europe, 2 million EVs were sold in the first half of the year, up 26%. Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales also rose 26%, thanks in part to affordable models like the Renault 4 (pictured) and 5 entering the market. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) weren’t far behind, growing 27% year-to-date. Chinese automakers are leaning into PHEVs as a way to work around the EU’s new tariffs on BEVs.
Spain is leading the pack with EV sales soaring 85% so far this year. Its generous MOVES III incentive program was extended in April and has kept sales strong. The UK and Germany are also seeing solid growth – 32% and 40%, respectively. France, however, is slumping. With subsidies cut, EV sales there have dropped 13%.
North America is stuck in the slow lane
Things aren’t looking quite as bright in North America. EV sales in the US, Canada, and Mexico are up just 3% so far this year.
Mexico is the one bright spot, with a 20% boost. The US is up 6%. But Canada is down a whopping 23%.
And things could get bumpier. On July 4, Trump signed Congress’s big bill into law, which axes all the Inflation Reduction Act EV tax credits. Those consumer credits for EVs now officially end on September 30.
Just over half of the EVs sold in the US this year qualified for those credits. Rho Motion predicts a rush in Q3 before the subsidies disappear – and a decline in sales after that.
Rho Motion data manager Charles Lester said, “With Trump’s latest cuts in his ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ the US could struggle to see any growth in the EV market overall in 2025.”
Global EV sales snapshot, H1 2025 vs H1 2024
- Global: 9.1 million (+28%)
- China: 5.5 million (+32%)
- Europe: 2.0 million (+26%)
- North America: 0.9 million (+3%)
- Rest of world: 0.7 million (+40%)
Read more: China breaks records as global EV sales hit 7.2 million in 2025
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Lucid’s electric sedan can drive further, charge faster, and packs more advanced tech than most of the competition. That might explain why it’s leading the segment. The Lucid Air remained the best-selling luxury EV sedan in the US after widening its lead in the Q2.
The Lucid Air is America’s best-selling luxury EV sedan
The 2025 Lucid Air Pure arrived as the “World’s most efficient car” with an EPA-estimated range of 420 miles and a record 146 MPGe.
It just set a new Guinness World Record last week for the longest journey by an electric car after travelling 749 miles (1,205 km) on a single charge.
That record was set in the range-topping Lucid Air Grand Touring model, which is rated for up to 512 miles of EPA-estimated range. On the WLTP scale, it’s rated at 597 miles (960 km). Either way, it still crushed the estimates.
According to second-quarter sales data, released by Kelley Blue Book on Monday, the Lucid Air is still America’s best-selling luxury EV.
Lucid sold 2,630 Air models in Q2, up 10% from the previous year. Through the first half of 2025, Lucid Air sales are up 17% with 5,094 units sold.
Tesla, on the other hand, only sold 1,435 Model Ss during the quarter, 71% fewer than it did in Q2 2024. Tesla Model S sales in the US are down 70% through the first half of the year at 2,715.
Although Porsche Taycan sales were up 32% with 1,064 models sold, the significantly upgraded 2025 model year was expected to see even more demand. Porsche has 2,083 Taycans in the US this year, up just 1% from 2024.
Other luxury EV sedans, such as the BMW i5 (1,434), i7 (820), and the Mercedes EQS (498), experienced steep double-digit sales declines year-over-year.
And it’s not just electric luxury sedans. The Lucid Air is currently outselling many gas-powered vehicles in its segment.
Lucid’s first electric SUV, the Gravity, is also rolling out. Although only five were sold in the second quarter, Lucid is quickly scaling production. Lucid aims to produce 20,000 vehicles this year, more than double the roughly 9,000 it built in 2024.
Earlier today, Lucid’s interim CEO, Marc Winterhoff, confirmed during an interview with Bloomberg that the company expects higher Gravity output in the second half of the year.
The interview was at the grand opening of Panasonic’s new battery cell plant in De Soto, Kansas. Winterhoff said Lucid will start using new cells from the facility, but not until next year.
Lucid’s CEO stressed the importance of establishing a local supply chain, as policy changes under the Trump Administration are taking effect. Lucid and Panasonic are collaborating to localize EV materials, such as graphite. Last month, Lucid secured a multi-year supply agreement with Graphite One for US-sourced Graphite.
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