Electric cars

Joe Lancaster | 1.30.2026 12:10 PM

In March 2023, Scout Motors announced it would spend $2 billion to build an electric vehicle (E.V.) factory in South Carolina. The company, a newly launched subsidiary of Volkswagen, would build electric trucks and SUVs.

CEO Scott Keogh said the company chose South Carolina because "the state was ready to go." But it likely didn't hurt that state lawmakers agreed to provide Scout $1.29 billion in incentives, including $400 million for site preparation.

Three years later, Scout has yet to build a single vehicle; it hopes to begin production by 2027. But South Carolina is already $150 million over budget on the project, and officials want state taxpayers to pick up the slack.

"South Carolina has racked up $150 million in cost overruns as it works to fulfill pledges it made to lure electric vehicle maker Scout Motors to the state," Jessica Holdman of the South Carolina Daily Gazette wrote this week.

Holdman noted that in........

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