Scout Motors
It's fair to say that Scout Motors is one of the most interesting newcomers in the American auto industry right now. It's not just another one of those ambitious EV startups we've seen arrive in recent years, often to quickly fade out once the realities of the market set in. Scout Motors brings two big things to the table that make it worth watching. For one, the brand's name is pulled right from the pages of American motoring history, referencing vehicles like the legendary International Harvester Scout back in the 1960s. The second — arguably more important — one is that the brand has the production and engineering might of Volkswagen, which revived the Scout brand as a way to bring electric SUVs and pickup trucks into the American market.
Seemingly undeterred by regulatory and market headwinds causing other brands to dial back on EV adoption, Scout Motors continues to push along with its launch and production plans full speed (though production windows have been pushed back since the brand's initial debut). In November 2025, the company picked Charlotte, North Carolina, as the location for its corporate headquarters. It's another sign that Scout is going to be something a lot bigger than just another brand within the Volkswagen umbrella, and the Charlotte choice builds upon an already strong foundation that the company is currently laying in the Carolinas.
What Scout Motors has planned for the Carolinas
Scout Motors
In a press release, Scout Motors president and CEO Scott Keogh said the brand settled on Charlotte after a long multi-state search process, eventually choosing the city because of its workforce, business-friendly climate, and strategic location. Per the press release, the new HQ will be located in Charlotte's Plaza Midwood neighborhood and should deliver 1,200 new jobs to the region in the coming years in the fields of marketing, development IT, and more. That part about "strategic location" is key because Scout Motors has already been working to establish the Carolinas as the company's home region.
About an hour south of Charlotte, Scout's new Blythewood, South Carolina, factory is currently under construction, with a planned opening date in 2027. Once running at full capacity, the factory is expected to add another 4,000 jobs to the region. Of course, the short distance between the corporate HQ and main production facility should be a big benefit. It should also be noted that Charlotte is also located relatively close to Volkswagen Group's main American headquarters in the neighboring state of Virginia.
Scout plans to start hiring people and working on its offices at the Charlotte location in 2026, with the rest of the corporate operations gradually coming online in the years following. As for Scout's vehicles, both the Scout Traveler pickup and the Scout Terra SUV are scheduled to begin production in 2027, with starting prices under $60,000. These models could be positioned as Rivian alternatives with a strong heritage and the backing of one of the world's largest and most established automakers.
