Gov. Henry McMaster (center), transportation Secretary Justin Powell (left) and Scout Motors CEO Scott Keogh at the Scout Motors Interchange groundbreaking on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (Shaun Chornobroff/SC Daily Gazette)
BLYTHEWOOD — Construction of a $200 million interstate project that will connect thousands of workers to a massive Scout Motors plant north of Columbia officially began Monday.
The creation of a new exit off Interstate 77, a new railroad bridge, and the realignment of U.S. Highway 21 began with a ceremonial shoveling of dirt.
“This is change. This is progress, and there’s more coming,” said Gov. Henry McMaster, whose negotiations helped the Midlands land the Volkswagen subsidiary.
The interchange project is part of $1.3 billion in taxpayer funding approved by legislators two years ago to secure the company’s $2 billion manufacturing plant.
It will provide access to a roughly 3 million-square-foot facility that’s expected to employ 4,000 people and produce 200,000 electric SUVs and pickups annually.
The jobs will come with insurance benefits, competitive pay, and child care, said Scout Motors CEO Scott Keogh.
“These are not jobs that are here today, gone tomorrow,” he said. “These are the jobs today that give you, in fact, a better tomorrow.”
As of Monday, 300 people had been hired, he said.
The plant is supposed to open in two years.
The new I-77 exit will be completed by December 2026, while the 1-mile widening of I-77’s northbound lanes to the existing Blythewood Road exit will be finished by June 2027, according to a handout at Monday’s ceremony.
Other work funded by state incentives include a rail spur and literal groundwork to support the facility on 1,100 acres. The groundbreaking ceremony for the plant itself was last February.
Keogh declined Monday to address how President Donald Trump’s moves to roll back the Biden administration’s green energy initiatives would impact Scout Motors’ plans.
“I don’t get into headlines,” he said. “My goal is to make a vehicle that Americans will love.”
Among the many executive orders Trump signed within hours of his inauguration was one eliminating what he called Biden’s “electric vehicle (EV) mandate.” That refers to the previous administration’s goal that EVs make up half of all new vehicles sold by 2030.
According to the order, titled “Unleashing American Energy,” the Trump administration will also consider “the elimination of unfair subsidies.” That’s widely seen as a signal Trump seeks to end the $7,500 tax credit for new EV sales approved by Congress in 2022 as part of a landmark clean energy law.
With EV sales already slower than anticipated, Keogh said in November that the automaker was taking steps to “future proof” the factory. That included building plug-in hybrids in addition to all-electric vehicles.
South Carolina “is already a hub for automotive manufacturing and we’re here to add to its profound legacy,” Keogh said Monday.
Scout Motors will produce two vehicles in 2027 — the Traveler SUV and the Terra Truck — which will be priced under $60,000.
Future buyers can reserve either with a $100 down payment through the Scout Motors website.
Keogh declined to specify how many people had reserved one of the first models, saying only that it was “a lot more than we expected.”
Officials tout the plant as transformative for a region that’s historically missed out on major manufacturing deals. They hope it will do for the Midlands what BMW has done for the Upstate since its first plant in North America opened near Greer in 1994.
The German automaker has expanded multiple times since, employing some 11,000 people directly, while attracting suppliers and growing an automotive industry statewide. That includes Volvo and Mercedes-Benz in the Lowcountry.
One Richland County lawmaker said the Scout Motors facility “tips the scales” towards the Midlands.
“The people in my area are really excited about the opportunities coming here,” said Rep. Jermaine Johnson, D-Columbia.
Johnson said his son will be attending Midlands Technical College next year and pursuing a degree in mechatronics to get a job at Scout Motors.
“It’s a generational change for families,” he said.