Scout Motors on Thursday introduced it has damaged floor on a $2 billion plant in South Carolina that might finally produce as much as 200,000 EVs per yr.
The facility, “near major cities and talent hubs,” can also be close to the ports of Charleston and Savannah, and it’s potential {that a} portion of the plant’s output shall be exported. Scout is sticking to the late-2026 manufacturing begin that it revealed final yr.
Scout revives a model fashioned round nostalgia for vans made by International Harvester from 1960 to 1980—and the model seems to have introduced a whole assortment of classic Scout autos out for the opening.
The fashionable Scout lineup will embody vans (pickups) and “rugged SUVs,” with “a newly designed all-electric platform, engineered to deliver credible capability and off-road prowess, with a focus on ground clearance, approach angles, robust axles, payload capacity, all-electric range, and new digital features.”
Anything Scout Vintage Racing Team’s 1976 Scout Terra
A report final yr, citing Scout CEO Scott Keogh, famous that the primary product from the model shall be a “rugged utility vehicle,” or RUV, whereas a bigger electrical pickup will comply with quickly after.
Scout received’t be a luxurious model, and its merchandise received’t be priced as such. As the CEO emphasised in that interview, beginning Scout EV costs shall be within the $40,000 vary.
Rendering of proposed Scout Motors manufacturing facility close to Columbia, South Carolina
The model has launched little different information but about these merchandise or the platform. According to a November report, VW was contemplating turning to Austria’s Magna moderately than utilizing its personal engineering and improvement assets. The model notes that within the U.S., it’s hiring. Like the remainder of the VW Group within the U.S., it is dedicated to the Tesla NACS cost connector.
Volkswagen introduced Scout in 2022 as a model underneath the management of the mother or father firm, not VW of America—permitting the area for a unique direct-sales mannequin. Announced on the peak of heightened demand for EVs, it was a whole shock to VW’s U.S. sellers, who had been reportedly been asking for an electrical truck. The VW model’s solely U.S. EV stays the ID.4, though the ID.7 hatchback and long-awaited ID.Buzz electrical van are each arriving quickly.
Source: www.greencarreports.com