Scout Motors Inc. committed to build its first manufacturing plant near Columbia, South Carolina, a $2-billion investment it said would establish “4,000 or more permanent jobs.” The new plant is projected to produce 200,000 battery-electric pickups and SUVs annually at full capacity, with start-up in late 2026.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster made the official announcement of the new plant project, which will occupy 1,100 acres in Blythewood, S.C. The state’s incentive package for Scout Motors was not announced.
Last October, McMaster issued an executive order establishing a centralized state working group to prioritize EV infrastructure development and prepare the state’s workforce for advanced manufacturing jobs.
Scout is a wholly-owned business unit of Volkswagen Group AG established in 2022 and drawing its brand name from a series of four-wheel-drive vehicles that International Harvester produced from 1961 to 1980. VW acquired Navistar, International Harvester’s successor company, in 2021.
The nominal start-up business will have its base of operations at the South Carolina site, according to Scout Motors CEO Scott Keough.
The new Scout Motors’ offerings will be all-electric SUVs and four-door pickup trucks, styled as variants of a common off-road vehicle series. Both vehicles reportedly will be based on a new platform that will share some aspects of VW’s other EV products, but will be distinct from the holding company’s available EV programs.
Scout’s specific electric-drive design and control technology not been unveiled, and no electric-battery supply has been revealed.
