- Scout is constructing a $2 billion plant in South Carolina
- A part of the build-out consists of the flexibility to deal with contract manufacturing, or constructing automobiles for different automakers like VW
- This might assist fund Scout’s ventures and even end in cross-brand tech sharing sooner or later
Scout Motors, the off-road, U.S.-centric model spun off from Volkswagen, is on the point of root itself in South Carolina. When its $2 billion Palmetto State plant comes on-line in 2027, it is working to set the model up for fulfillment—and never simply with its personal two introductory vehicles.
See, Scout goes about this in a moderately sensible method. Seemingly not like Volkswagen, Scout has a spotlight in the case of EVs. It is not about creating home equipment, it is about creating a way of life product {that a} client really needs. And, certain, there’s going to be some tech sharing happening amongst father or mother and little one manufacturers, which is why Scout is hitting the gymnasium early so it may well flex its manufacturing muscle groups to the entire automotive business.
Photograph by: Scout Motors
The Blythewood-based facility may have a three-phase launch. In response to Joern Petri, the automaker’s VP of Plant Launch, the primary section shall be all about getting the doorways open and pumping out the Traveler SUV adopted by the Terra pickup. After it will get its footing, the plant will proceed to ramp up manufacturing to output round 200,000 automobiles per yr. And as soon as it does that? Effectively, that is the place issues get attention-grabbing.
Scout truly constructed its plant with contract manufacturing in thoughts. That signifies that it will likely be capable of construct automobiles for different OEMs (like Volkswagen) out of the identical facility, permitting it to share its cool tech and instruments throughout manufacturers whereas serving to automakers meet U.S. manufacturing necessities for automobiles to qualify for the federal EV tax necessities with out the model constructing an entire new manufacturing facility by itself. A win-win, should you ask me.
“We arrange the manufacturing facility in a method that contract manufacturing is feasible for different VW manufacturers, or whoever is ,” mentioned Petri throughout a presentation late final month.
It additionally means a speedy launch of another fashions that Scout has deliberate sooner or later. I suppose that is higher futureproofing than organising a bunch of tents, proper?
Scout’s plant can also be set as much as be utterly modular. The already huge plant is architected sort of like Legos, which means that if the necessity for growth is there, the model can merely snap on some extra manufacturing facility and proceed constructing. The structure and land are each already there, so figuring out that it may well double manufacturing capability on very brief discover needs to be a optimistic for any automaker trying to benefit from the model’s provide to deal with contract manufacturing.
All of that being mentioned, it is seemingly that Scout will not attain that time till nearer to the highest of the last decade. So whereas all OEMs proceed to get their battery-powered butts in gear, it is good to know that there are extra choices on the market to ramp up EV manufacturing. And if these vehicles end up half pretty much as good as the general public thinks they are going to, I am certain people would not thoughts a little bit of Scout underneath the hood.
