Construction and hiring continue at Scout Motors
BLYTHEWOOD, SC (WOLO) — It’s been two years since Scout Motors broke ground on it’s new production center in Blythewood — and on Tuesday, ABC Columbia’s Lee Williams was given a sneak peek to check out the team’s progress.
His bus tour across much of the 1,600 acre site included going inside its 1.3 million square foot body shop, its fully-electric 500,000 square foot paint shop, (which once open, will complete 45 vehicles per day) and the site’s 1.3 million square foot assembly shop — complete with a water leak testing area for all of its future electric trucks and SUV’s.
Scout Motors reports it will surpass its initial investment of $2.2 billion — adding an additional investment of $300 million to build a supplier park — where suppliers will assemble electric batteries and add on vehicle accessories.
President Scott Keogh believes the addition will bring the total number of jobs offered to between 4,000 and 5,000 positions by 2030.
“We’re not just here planting some factory, and ‘Let’s see how it goes.’ We are here to change the lives of the workers, we’re here to bring back an iconic American brand that never should’ve gone away, and we’re here to create the next great American brand, so when people look out over 50, 60, 100 years, and they talk about brands like Levi’s and McDonald’s and Apple, on and on, we want Scout to be right there, and we feel very confident we will be there,” says Keogh.
Speaking in front of Scout’s new On-Site Training Center, Vice President of Human Resources for Production, Clarice Henderson says the first 40 production hires in the next two weeks will be line operators.
She says no automotive or manufacturing experience is needed.
“So if you’re interested, I would encourage folks to check our website www.scoutmotors.com/careers. Always check because we are posting different jobs. For the production center, they need to go to www.scoutmotors.sctechjobs.com,” Henderson says.
Williams asked Keogh for any updates on the potential for direct to consumer sales in South Carolina, currently blocked by franchise regulations.
“We think it would be an awful lot easier for our factory workers and the citizens of SC if we had a dealer license, but that’s not in my hands. That’s in the hands of the politicians and they will handle it as they see fit,” he says.
Keogh also responded to Scout Motors choosing Charlotte, N.C. for its corporate headquarters — the choice becoming a sore spot for some South Carolinians.
Keough says the decision came down to three things — the ability to more quickly fill corporate jobs due to charlotte’s population size, it’s proximity to a major airport, and a ready to use building.
“But anyone looking upon this as I’ve seen the word somehow ‘disrespected’ SC is completely unfounded. The overwhelming majority of investment is right here, and I think you all just had a chance to see it. Full stop,” says Keogh.
Over 150,000 pre-orders have already been made — with a large number of customers coming from California, says Keogh.
Production on customer vehicles is expected to begin in late 2027 or early 2028.
