Volkswagen-backed Scout Motors, in nod to past, toasts start of construction of electric SUV plant
Volkswagen Group-backed Scout Motors is celebrating the start of construction on its $2 billion electric SUV plant in South Carolina
BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. — Scout Motors celebrated the start of construction on its $2 billion electric SUV plant in South Carolina on Thursday not with a line of people in suits with shovels but with a nod to the company's gasoline-powered past.
A fleet of old Scout vehicles drove a brick from the site of the former factory in Fort Wayne, Indiana — where the rugged, boxy precursors to SUVs were built in the 1960s and 1970s — to the site where Volkswagen Group-backed new company is trying to revive the brand.
Scout thinks the market for its $50,000 electric SUV isn't with a futuristic appearance but rather something resembling how the vehicles once looked but with all the environmental and driving benefits of an electric vehicle.
“While we are honoring the hard-working heritage and the soul of Scout, we are ready for the future when it comes to production and technology,” said Christian Vollmer, a member of Volkswagen's extended executive committee.
The plant in Blythewood, South Carolina, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Columbia is expected to open in 2027 and employ up to 4,000 people if Scout Motors can hit its goal of making and selling 200,000 vehicles per year.
South Carolina offered $1.3 billion in incentives to Scout Motors, including plans to build a new interchange on Interstate 77 leading to the plant, a railroad bridge over the highway and massive improvements to sewer, power and other surrounding roads. There are also grants the company can use for whatever it needs to get production going.
The Scout Motors site will join BMW in Greer and both a Volvo and a Sprinter van plant
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