Scout Motors has chosen a greenfield site in Blythewood, South Carolina, for its new $2bn factory, which will produce SUVs and pickups starting in 2026. The location was chosen over 73 other sites across the US as it was judged to be “ready to go.” The incentive package put together by the state includes a $400m grant to Scout Motors for hard assets, funding for $650m in local infrastructure improvements, a $25m training facility and a $200m loan for soil stabilisation. Governor Henry McMaster signed the package into law on Monday. The new factory will create approximately 4,000 jobs and will have a capacity to produce 200,000 vehicles each year.
Scout CEO Scott Keogh said the first vehicle from the factory would be shown in spring 2024 and would not merely be a retro-styled version of the 1980 International Scout II. “The concept is to take some of those core things but bring them into the 21st century. We wanted to make sure we kept the integrity and the romance of the Scout II. We think we have something cool.” The vehicles will likely borrow components from other VW Group vehicles but will be built on an all-new architecture and platform.
Scout Motors was set up as an independent company under the VW Group’s structure, and the German automaker will take learnings from its experience setting up its huge assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 2011, and its recent expansion to begin building the ID4 compact electric crossover last year. However, Bosch said the VW Group won’t be involved in Scout’s retailing, saying “Volkswagen Chattanooga, being part of Volkswagen of America, wasn’t even an option. What we’re benefiting from is the experience we gained from Chattanooga as a group.”
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