Scout Motors appoints new leadership figures
Wollinsky previously served as the company’s VP of Production, and before that, he was Plant Manager for SAIC Volkswagen where his role focused on constructing manufacturing plants including Volkswagen Group’s first dedicated EV production site. Wollinsky also worked in leadership roles for VW in Germany as well as Mercedes-Benz, where he worked as VP of Manufacturing Operations in SEA and on the management board for production in Hungary. He will fill the role of the late Dr Jan Spies, the company’s former CPO.
In a statement, Scout Motors CEO Scott Keogh said: “Oliver is the kind of leader who rolls up his sleeves and gets the job done. He’s strategic, hands-on and knows what it takes to build high-performing, innovative teams and launch complex manufacturing operations. He’s already been instrumental in getting our Production Center off the ground, and I have no doubt his leadership will ensure we bring Scout vehicles to life with the quality and craftsmanship our customers expect.”
Jan-Henrik Lafrentz also joined the company as COO on April 1, where he will bring his knowledge of finance, sales and marketing to the company’s operations as they scale. A Scout spokesperson said that Lafrentz will split his time between the company’s $2bn assembly plant in Blythewood, South Carolina, and the company’s R&D center in Michigan.
Scout itself is a US-based brand owned by VW. In 2024, it presented concepts of its Traveler SUV and Terra Truck vehicles. The pure electric models offer 350 miles of range as standard, or 500 miles with the extended range model. The battery-electric versions are anticipated to have a charging capacity of 350kW. Scout states that the Terra will have a towing capacity of just over 4.5 tonnes, while the Traveler will have a towing capacity of 3.17 tonnes. The company says there will also be a hybrid option of a petrol-powered range extender that acts as a generator. Coined ‘Harvester’, it is intended to increase range to more than 800km.
Production on the vehicles is set to begin in 2027, with construction underway at the South Carolina plant since February 2024. According to VW Group CEO Oliver Blume, Scout has so far received over 50,000 reservations for the first two models – with Scout CEO Scott Keogh telling Bloomberg that reservations for the hybrid version exceeds current demand for the battery-electric editions.
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