Scout Motors reports about 212,000 reservations as its South Carolina plant starts validation builds
Scout chief executive Scott Keogh told CNBC the brand has about 212,000 reservations, mostly for extended-range models, as its Blythewood factory begins building validation vehicles.
Last updated
Volkswagen-backed Scout Motors has about 212,000 reservations for its Terra pickup and Traveler SUV, chief executive Scott Keogh told CNBC in an interview published on 12 November. The figure came as Scout said construction of its South Carolina production center has entered its final phase and the first validation vehicles are being built there, Motor1 reported.
What buyers are reserving
According to CNBC, roughly 87% of reservations are for extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs), which carry a gasoline engine that acts as a generator, and about 75% are for the Traveler SUV. Keogh said Scout now plans to launch with the EREV versions first, followed by the fully electric models, and to start with mid-level trims rather than the most expensive ones.
Keogh told CNBC he thinks reservations could pass 400,000 without much extra effort, but said the more important task is converting early interest into firm orders before production. He said an order book covering 12 to 18 months of output would be a good result. CNBC noted that reservations do not necessarily turn into sales, pointing to earlier electric pickups that drew strong interest without matching purchase numbers.
Inside the Blythewood plant
Scout is spending more than $2 billion on the plant near Columbia. Keogh told CNBC the factory is about 85% complete, with supporting infrastructure and a $300 million supplier park still being installed. Full production is expected next year, with customer deliveries starting in 2028, CNBC reported.
Motor1, citing Scout, said the body shop combines about 160 parts into each body using more than 750 robots and roughly 5,000 weld points, and is designed for about 40 vehicles an hour at full capacity. The current builds are meant to test equipment and find problems before volume production, and validation builds will continue into 2027 before pre-production begins. Scout expects the plant to create more than 4,000 jobs, according to Motor1.
Scout opened reservations in October 2024, when it revealed the Traveler and Terra, a revival of the brand that sold vehicles from 1961 to 1980.