South Carolina offers $1.3B to new Scout electric SUV maker – EQ Mag

COLUMBIA, SC : South Carolina’s governor said Monday he is asking lawmakers to approve about $1.3 billion in funding to bring a new electric vehicle plant to the state, a brand by Volkswagen Group-backed Conglomerate trying to revive the 1960s that was the forerunner. For today’s SUV.

Scout Motors Inc. And South Carolina officials announced plans to begin manufacturing new Scout vehicles, this time powered by electricity, for the first time since 1980. They expect to employ 4,000 workers for their $2 billion plant.

The Scout is banking on nostalgia with an expected surge in alternative vehicles. International Harvester made gas-powered Scout vehicles in the 1960s and 1970s. Their size and features continue to influence modern SUVs, and Scouts have had a niche fanbase of collectors ever since.

In the competitive battle for electric vehicle plants, South Carolina is seeking to join its neighbors providing billions of dollars in taxpayer aid.

Georgia offered $1.8 billion in incentives to Hyundai Motor Group for its first US electric vehicle plant near Savannah. North Carolina appears to be offering more than $1 billion in aid to Vietnamese automaker Vinfast for its first North American electric vehicle plant.

South Carolina is determined to be a big player in the electric vehicle industry and everything that goes with it, like making batteries.

Gov. Henry McMaster signed an executive order in October asking the state Department of Commerce to aggressively court businesses involved in the industry and give them a single point of contact.

He appeared to be working on Scout. Company officials said they wanted to act fast. Scott Keogh, president of Scout Motors, said they reached out to 74 potential sites across the country and South Carolina sealed the deal in two months.

“Some states were shuffling the paperwork even after 60 days. There was action in this state,” said Keogh, who is also CEO of the independent company headquartered in Virginia and backed by German automaker Volkswagen.

Scout’s new plant will be built north of Columbia along Interstate 77. Groundbreaking and site work could begin this summer and the company expects to have 4,000 workers and vehicles off the assembly line by 2026, Keogh said.

When fully operational, Scout Motors expects to manufacture 200,000 vehicles a year and export them worldwide.

The $1.3 billion in state aid will go toward building a new interchange for the plant on I-77 and a railroad bridge over the highway. South Carolina Commerce Secretary Harry Lightsey said there would be sewer, power and roads as well as other improvements for grants that those wishing to get the venture off the ground could use.

The State General Assembly would need to approve the incentives. Leaders of the Republican-dominated House and Senate appear to fully support the project.

McMaster said that adjusted for inflation, investments by states in foreign automakers that began building cars in the US in the 1990s were similar.

McMaster said, “They’ve always said you have to spend money to make money.” “Time has proven they were wise decisions.”

Lightsey compared Scout Motor’s efforts to bring a brand with nostalgic ties to the new electric vehicle industry to the Japanese carmaker in the late 1980s by introducing the luxury Lexus and Infiniti brands from an established automaker.

“This is a unique moment in history,” Lightsey said, describing Scout’s business plan as at times bold. “When we began to understand the company’s vision, we realized what a match it was for the state of South Carolina.”

Scout Motor’s decision to build near Columbia means that each region of the state will have a major automaker.

BWM has been manufacturing vehicles near Greenville since 1994 and is investing $1.7 billion to prepare for electric vehicles there. Volvo Cars began building the vehicles two years ago at a plant near Charleston and plans to convert some electric-powered models.

McMaster said it is important to spread economic growth to all areas of the state.

“This is the missing ingredient that is going to spark prosperity in the Midlands,” the governor said.

Source: AP