The following VW Scout pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) will be manufactured in South Carolina when they go on sale in 2026. The facility, which will cost $2 billion, would have the capacity to produce 200,000 electric vehicles annually and will employ approximately 4000 people. Although VW produces the ID.4 in Chattanooga and plans to produce different electric vehicles there, the strategy implemented in South Carolina will only apply to Scouts. Last week, Volkswagen announced it would begin manufacturing electric vehicles in South Carolina under the brand Scout Motors. Although it will be Volkswagen’s second manufacturing facility in the United States, it will solely produce Scout models. The executive board of Volkswagen announced that the facility for manufacturing Scout cars, estimated to cost $2 billion, will be constructed in Blythewood, South Carolina. The production of electric pickup trucks and “rugged” SUVs under the Scout brand is anticipated to begin at the site in 2026. The new Scout EV plant will be capable of producing more than 200,000 automobiles annually and will employ more than 4,000 people when it is fully operational. A representative for Volkswagen stated that all of these vehicles would be Scouting, not electric cars for any of the other Volkswagen brands. Currently, Volkswagen only operates a single plant in the United States. It’s located in Chattanooga, which is in Tennessee. The firm said in May of the previous year that over the following five years, it would spend more than $7 billion in North America to “expand its product portfolio, regional R&D, and production capabilities” across the continent. This announcement was made in May of the previous year. In July 2022, Volkswagen began constructing the ID.4 in Chattanooga to produce 7,000 electric vehicles (EVs) monthly. It is anticipated that this number will rise by 2023. On the other hand, the car manufacturer announced last year that it planned to “scale up” the production of battery cells in the United States and created a battery engineering center in Chattanooga the previous year. In its $7.1 billion announcement from May of last year, Volkswagen made more than one pledge, which only included the new Scout facility. At the time, Volkswagen announced it would begin selling “new electric SUVs” in 2026. In addition to the ID.4, which would be manufactured in the United States in 2022, and the ID—Buzz, which would be finished in 2024, this was an additional product. Volkswagen (VW) has also expressed an interest in constructing a new battery plant in Canada. China and Europe both contribute to Volkswagen’s production of electric vehicles. By acquiring Navistar in 2021, Volkswagen became the owner of the Scout name (the successor to International Harvester, which created the original Scout). 2022 was the year that formally marked VW’s return of the brand. On LinkedIn, Scott Keogh, who formerly served as the CEO and president of the VW Group of America and is currently the CEO of Scout Motors, commented on the factory’s location. “Things that began in 1960 are now back where they were when they began. By constructing an off-road vehicle with an all-electric chassis, Scout is reimagining how much fun an off-road vehicle can be. One of the most recognizable emblems of the United States is getting ever closer to being transformed into a vehicle that can travel on public roads.” In these production announcements, very few specifics about the cars were provided; however, Keogh’s remarks convey that all-electric vehicles designed for outdoor fun are on the horizon. The author states that the Scout has always been the vehicle that brings your family camping and the car you drive to work every morning. “This won’t be changing any time soon. The adaptability of the Scout has not changed, and Americans will fall in love with driving once more.”
