Recently, I visited the location in Northwest Richland County that will be home to what many are calling “South Carolina’s next BMW”!
You may ask “Nathan, why are you visiting a business outside our community?” Easy. Because Irmo and Chapin WILL benefit from this huge corporation moving into our state and, specifically, Richland County.
I remember the floor debate when my colleagues voted to help our state land this historic investment for the Midlands and all of South Carolina. Much like BMW changed the Upstate, Scout Motors is poised do the same for us here in the Midlands. You can read more here , but I’ve put some bullet point below.
* Scout is investing $2B in the construction of the Production Center Site itself (separate from any incentives). This will revolutionized the region, creating over 4000 permanent jobs and billions more an investment in the state.
* Crews have already moved more than 9 million cubic yards of dirt and continue grading and infrastructure additions and improvements.
* At peak capacity, Scout will produce 200,000 vehicles a year at the Production Center – that’s 40 per hour, 800 a day.
* Production is set to begin in 2026.
*The rugged Scout truck and SUV will be built by Americans for Americas.
* The site is 1,600 acres off Blythewood Road
* SC beat out multiple states in the south and beyond to land the deal
Simply put – this site is enormous! Scout will have an enormous impact on us locally and on our state for years to come. That’s one benefit from having a #7 Corporation in the world locate in your back yard!