Volkswagen "Scouts" South Carolina for New EV Factory

International Harvester has been defunct for nearly 40 years, but one of its most iconic products continues to draw significant interest today. The Scout was a line of pickup trucks and SUVs that remain desirable today, thanks to growing interest in vintage off-roaders. Volkswagen purchased the rights to the Scout name and hopes to capitalize on that nostalgia with a line of electric vehicles. The automaker recently shared some teaser images and updates on the production of the highly anticipated EVs.

VW’s Scout has shared a few highly-edited photos of its upcoming electric pickup truck and SUV, but the images are tantalizingly vague. We’ve already seen “blueprint-like” plans for the vehicles, and the teasers don’t stray from those outlines.

The bigger story here is that VW plans to build the new vehicles in South Carolina and has a massive investment lined up to get started. Scout will get a $2 billion factory that will eventually house 4,000 jobs and an annual production capacity of 200,000 EVs. The automaker plans to start the production lines in 2026. 

Scout CEO Scott Keogh, formerly of VW USA, said that the Inflation Reduction Act played a role in the company’s decision to build in America. The new EV tax credit rules limit vehicles’ final construction location and where automakers can source raw materials, so a domestic factory is prudent.

[Image: Scout via Instagram]

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