Scout Motors breaks ground on Blythewood facility

BLYTHEWOOD, SC (WOLO) — Thanks to a $1.3 billion incentive from the state of South Carolina, Scout Motors has decided to call the Palmetto State home.

Thursday, state leaders and Scout employees celebrated the groundbreaking of the new facility, which will operate in Blythewood.

“The beautiful thing is to start with a clean slate. It’s tough when you have an old plant, you try to retrofit it and there’s a legacy,” said Scout Motors CEO Scott Keough. “The legacy here is a clean slate. That’s going to be a good opportunity for us.”

The company, backed by Volkswagen Group, will operate a facility making electric vehicles, with the first two models said to be a pickup truck and SUV. 

“We feel this is a good location to do that,” Keough said. “One, you have an automotive infrastructure. Two, you already have factories in the state but they’re not so close that we’re competing with each other.”

The original Scout Motors brand dates back to the 60s and 70s, where vehicles were produced in Indiana.

The new company chose to operate in Blythewood South Carolina over 70 other possible locations. 

“The competition is fierce in the southeast,” said Gov. Henry McMaster. “People are leaving the Rust Belt and want to come here where there’s economic freedom. Here we are.”

The $2 billion investment is set to bring 4,000 jobs to South Carolina. Scout Motors’ CEO expects the vehicles to be hitting the roadways of the Palmetto State by 2027.

“They will be at a great price,” Keough said. “I think we’re going to target 50 thousand dollars. This is a highly capable loaded and strong car.”

The Scout Motors facility will have the capability to create 200 thousand vehicles a year, but much of that will depend on the market and demand for electric vehicles. 

“I think it’s technology that’s cool,” Keough said. “Like all technology, it’s going to get better, cooler and less expensive. I think it will take off.”

“What we’re doing is following the market. We know that electric vehicles are going to be a part of the future,” McMaster said. “We know that battery companies are finding new ways to make batteries as well as recycling lithium and that sort of thing.”

McMaster also says the workforce of the future will be prepared to handle the thousands of jobs being created by Scout Motors. 

“We have plenty of people who can do these jobs, we just need to train and educate them,” the governor said. “That’s how we’re doing it.”

While work to build the 1,100 acre facility is underway, the first vehicles will not be produced for at least two years.