Scout's direct-sales plan is making Volkswagen dealers sad

We've known for some time that Volkswagen was Plans to revive the Scout nameAnd this week, We finally got to see the first two cars The new electric automaker has plans for an SUV and pickup truck It remains to be seen whether the Scout will be a success when production begins in 2027, but in addition to looking great, they bring the distinct advantage of being sold directly to the customer, with no third-party dealers required. As you can imagine, dealers are not happy about this. Not one bit.

Automotive news Report National Automobile Dealers Association CEO Mike Stanton is confident Scout's decision to cut middlemen is a mistake that “will be challenged.” Meanwhile, Volkswagen National Dealer Advisory Council Chairman Charlie Hall told AutoNews that Volkswagen didn't signal the Scout ahead of its announcement.

“Assuming they take this other path, let's face it, there's going to be challenges and problems for them virtually everywhere across the country,” said Automotive Trade Association Executives' 2024 Chairman John Devlin. auto news. “My opponents across the country are not just going to roll over.”

Whether or not their legal challenges will succeed is still entirely up in the air, but it's worth noting that Scout is set up as its own independent company, and dealers knew as early as May 13, 2022 that they would no longer have an auto company. Scout manufactured vehicles claim. So it makes sense that they'll be disappointed they won't get the pickup truck they've wanted for years, it's not like Volkswagen changed its mind after promising they'd be able to sell the Scout as soon as they got going. In production though, dealers are not planning to take this layering.

“Why wouldn't the best, most effective value proposition be your first choice for delivering vehicles to customers?” Devlin asked auto news. “And why would you reject an existing distribution and sales system that already exists?”