South Carolina’s governor says he is going to ask lawmakers to approve nearly $1.3 billion to bring to the state a new electric vehicle plant. The company is a Volkswagen Group-backed group trying to revive the Scout brand of vehicles, which was a 1960s forerunner to today’s SUVs.
Scout Motors Inc. says it will spend $2 billion on the plant near Columbia and hopes to have 4,000 workers and begin rolling the electric SUVs off the assembly line in 2026. The $1.3 billion in state incentives would go toward building a new interchange for the plant on I-77 and a railroad bridge over the highway.
There would be other improvements to sewer, power and roads as well as grants the company could use for whatever it wishes to get the venture off the ground, South Carolina Commerce Secretary Harry Lightsey said. The state General Assembly will need to approve the incentives. Leaders in the Republican-dominated House and Senate appear to fully back the project.