Sunday, December 10, 2023
News Volkswagen Announced South Carolina will be the Site of its Upcoming Scout...

Volkswagen Announced South Carolina will be the Site of its Upcoming Scout Factory

Scout EVs will be built in a new factory in South Carolina.

  • Construction work will begin later this year and should be completed ahead of the brand’s launch in 2026.

  • The electric trucks and SUVs that will be built there will share elements with VW models, but not their entire platforms.

  • A partnership with Redwood Materials could also be in the works.

Volkswagen has now confirmed its upcoming factory dedicated to building Scout-branded vehicles will be built in South Carolina.

For a few years now, automakers have moved some of their manufacturing operations away from the Midwest, which was traditionally the epicentre of the automotive industry in the U.S., to relocate to the south where regulations and incentives make production more profitable.

This is also true of newcomers who decide to set up shop in the country, an idea that has gained in popularity since the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was passed last year.

Indeed, Volkswagen says the IRA was a key factor in its decision to invest $2 billion in a new factory in South Carolina which it will use to build Scout EVs starting in 2026, in addition to an undisclosed incentive package from the State.

The company also says it chose this precise location in Blythewood since it is in the middle of the so-called battery belt (an area with a strong concentration of battery and EV manufacturing facilities) and also due to its relative proximity to the port of Charleston, which is currently the 8th largest and fastest growing port in the U.S.

This will be important since it gives VW the opportunity to export Scout vehicles globally from this same production facility.

A few more details about the upcoming Scout models have been revealed and we now know that despite sharing some mechanical parts such as motors and batteries with other Volkswagen vehicles, these trucks and SUVs will use their own platform.

Preview of the Scout factory | Photo: Scout

By employing around 4,000 people, this factory will be able to deliver 200,000 units of the rugged electric vehicles each year.

Not far from the location where Scout will break ground later this year, battery recycling start-up Redwood Materials is about to build its own $3.5 billion processing plant.

This young company already has a contract to supply Toyota and Ford with recycled battery minerals and Volkswagen announced it would send its discarded batteries to Redwood Materials for recycling.

Since Scout is technically a separate entity within the VW Group, it might not be part of this partnership with Redwood, despite its intention to use up to 50% recycled minerals in the batteries it installs in its vehicles.

Choosing to manufacture Scout EVs in the United States could also help Volkswagen convince buyers who might have been unhappy to see the revived brand name applied to foreign-made vehicles.

Indeed, the Scout name was used in the 60s and 70s by International Harvester on a line of rugged 4x4s built in Indiana to compete with the Jeep Wrangler and the Ford Bronco, the exact models the revived company wants to go up against.

Source: Automotive News

Trending Now

Report Says Volkswagen, Renault in Talks to Build 20k Euro EV

Affordable EVs needed to compete with Chinese brands VW already plans sub-25k euro EV next year A German paper is reporting that Volkswagen is...

Report: Jeep Renegade Done After 2023

Slow-selling Renegade said to be at end of line Recon, other Jeep EVs expected in 2024 A new report says that the smallest Jeep...

Ineos Announces First Two Canadian Grenadier Stores, Deliveries Start Soon

Ineos will have Grenadier stores in two cities Deliveries of the off-road SUV start early 2024 Ineos Automotive has just announced its first two...

Latest One-Off Bugatti Inspired By Type 57 SC Atlantic

Owner wanted a car like the classic they remember Super Sport gets chrome blue paintwork Is it possible to get sick of all of...

Funky 2024 Fiat 500e Starts From $40k, Offers 240 km Range

Fiat 500e is the lightest EV on sale Launches in BC and PQ this Spring The Fiat 500 is back in Canada. The Fiat...

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.