12 December 2023
Electric truck manufacturer Scout Motors Inc. is looking to invest $11 million and create 200 jobs with a new R&D center in suburban Detroit.
The Volkswagen-backed company aims to set up the innovation center in tandem with its South Carolina factory launch expected by the end of 2026. The project in Novi, Mich., would create a hub for Scout’s product design and engineering, according to a briefing memo from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
The new jobs are expected to pay an average of $3,714 per week plus benefits. The plan is being supported with a $10 million performance-based grant, approved Tuesday by the Michigan Strategic Fund board.
The grant helps to “address the up-front cost disadvantage of locating the project in Michigan when compared to the competing sites outside of Michigan,” the memo said.
Built on the revitalization of an iconic American brand, Tysons, Va.-based Scout intends to roll out its first SUV and truck test vehicles in the coming months. Its plant in South Carolina, where it plans to invest $2 billion, is expected to produce 200,000 EVs annually.
The company is moving forward with ambitious ramp-up plans as the EV industry faces growing pains. Lower-than-expected demand for battery electric vehicles has prompted dramatic pullback from automakers such as Ford Motor Co., which is cutting production of its F-150 Lightning in half next year, and General Motors, which is delaying EV pickup production at Orion Assembly.
Scout has about 300 employees and plans to break ground on its assembly plant in the first quarter, CEO Scott Keogh told Automotive News last week. The company employs 44 people in Michigan, the MEDC briefing memo said.
“The company is optimistic that the launch of Scout electric vehicles and vision for the brand will result in ongoing growth,” it said.