By Rick Abercrombie
From 1960 to 1980 there really was no Sports Utility Vehicle category in the automotive business. International Harvester marketed the Scout, which was a quasi-station wagon built on a truck chassis and along with Jeep, the two amounted to less than five percent of the market. Scouts were known for their rugged dependability and – yes –for their utility, but it was still a small piece of the overall pie. Fast-forward to the current automotive business, and SUVs account for 52 percent of all new vehicle sales. Add to this mix the fact that electric vehicles are a viable factor in the automotive business.
This is the climate today into which Scout Motors is making a large investment. Scout’s Public Affairs officer Jamie Lovegrove, recently presented the Scout story to St. Andrews Optimists. Lovegrove’s presentation was titled Meet the American Moment.
From August 2022 to February 2023, Scout systematically narrowed the search for the ideal site. In stages, that progression flowed from 74, to 29, to 11, to 4, to 2, and finally to Bythewood. Some factors that contributed to the decisions:
- 1. South Carolina as an established automotive hub.
- 2. Broad supplier network, both in component parts and in service
- 3. Excellent infrastructure and short transport distances
- 4. More than 50 percent of suppliers within 200 miles
The numbers speak for themselves: 1,100 acre tract; more than five million square feet of buildings; $2 billion investment; 4,000-plus jobs working directly for Scout; another estimated 1,000 jobs created for suppliers; 200,000 vehicles forecast to be built annually at full production in 2027, and a goal of three work shifts in 2028. The site is so important that there is a dedicated interstate interchange being built for it on I-77.
To fill the personnel needs, Scout is in the midst of a national-scope hiring campaign. Lovegrove reports the job slots are filling up at an encouraging pace. Scout offers an industry standard range of benefits, but also adds an on-site medical clinic, on-side training center, and near-site child care.
In addition to Scout’s corporate buildings, it is creating a supplier park on-campus for even shorter turnaround times. Among Scout’s own buildings are:
- 1. Main production line
- 2. Just in Time Facility to provide subassemblies
- 3. Large scale battery production
- 4. Accessories center for customizing base models
The two products to be built in Blythewood are the SUV, named the Traveler, and the pickup truck, named the Terra. Each will use electric power, with a 350 mile cruising range. Scout will also offer the Harvester Range Extender as an option that uses a small gas motor as a supplement. That feature will raise the cruising distance to 500 miles. Either platform will have a towing capacity of more than 7,000 pounds.
