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Born again truck brand Scout Motors hit a significant milestone this morning, breaking ground in Blythewood, South Carolina, the site of its future US hub for electric truck production. We’re still a ways away from the public debut of Scout’s flagship model. Still, there’s a lot to be excited about, and the brand’s heritage is already garnering a loyal fanbase in full support of its all-electric transition.

Born again brand Scout Motors stems from a classic nameplate of off-road vehicles from the ’60s and ’70s built by International Harvester. While only about 530,000 Scout trucks were built during its 20-year production run, the early Jeep competitor… harvested a relatively small but passionate fanbase.

Today, it’s not difficult to find someone whose grandfather drove a Scout II or grew up seeing one around town – creating an impressive level of heritage and nostalgia for such a scarce fleet. Volkswagen Group is looking to capitalize off that heritage and revive the namesake for the modern, all-electric age.

In 2022, the Group confirmed it would revive the brand as an entirely electric marque that still delivers the rugged, off-road performance the original Scouts are still celebrated for. Following a recent partnership with Magna – no strangers to impressive electric performance on tough terrain, it’s clear that Scout Motors means business.

While we’ve only seen teaser renderings of Scout’s first two EV models in development, we know they will be built in the US. In March 2023, Scout and the Governor of South Carolina announced the Palmetto State would become the new home to the budding VW Group brand.

Scout has since expanded its US footprint in Novi, Michigan, where its electric trucks are currently being designed and developed, while a new Innovation Center is erected nearby. This morning, Scout officially broke ground on its South Carolina production facility ahead of an EV debut this year.

Build of Scout EV truck facilities now underway

Large trucks hummed in the background, leveling Blythewood, South Carolina’s iron-rich soil, as a crowd of local and state officials, media, and classic Scout enthusiasts gathered for the EV-centric automotive brand’s groundbreaking ceremony earlier today.

No shiny shovels, no hard hats, and no ceremonial digging – just a coming together of individuals from the automotive industry and South Carolina residents to join in the excitement for the opportunities the new facilities will provide.

As detailed above, Scout trucks are classic vehicles with a legacy, but the name, although noteworthy, was only its own brand once Volkswagen Group stepped in. Still, the legacy and constancy of the vehicles that led to today’s latest chapter are a massive part of Scout Motor’s company ethos.

For example, the land in Blythewood acquired by Scout was previously owned by the Swygert family, who lived there from 1961 to 2013. The red house that still sits on the property (seen above) was built by David Swygert, and the Scout team intends to keep it there.

The original Scout trucks from International Harvester were built in Fort Wayne, Indiana. So to pay homage to its roots in off-road builds, Scout Motors organized a cross-country rally of owners of the classic vehicles to transport a brick from the original plant to South Carolina to be part of the upcoming construction, with plenty of stops through mud, water, and rocky terrain along the way.

When construction is complete and at total efficiency, Scout expects the new facility to produce 200,000+ electric trucks per year – operating 40 EV jobs per hour. Being an all-electric brand, Scout’s Chief Production Officer, Dr. Jan Spies, says the company will rely on green energy alternatives to reach carbon neutrality while reducing key inhibitors such as energy and water usage.

Scout will debut two bespoke EVs this summer

Following the groundbreaking ceremony, the media got to sit down with Scout Motors President and CEO Scott Keogh to discuss the future of the young all-electric brand. From the get-go, Keogh expressed the advantage Scout Motors has as a clean slate that already has momentum in heritage, backed by the purchasing and production expertise of Volkswagen Group.

That said, Scout intends to do its own thing when it comes to EV development and design. Dr. Spies told us that the platform technology Scout’s first two trucks will sit atop is “not a twin, daughter, or brother” to any of the platforms currently used in the larger VW Group.

Spies said this bespoke platform gives Scout an advantage in terms of development speed and offers a beautiful opportunity to deliver a unique car for its environment. Keogh shared similar intentions when speaking to the young brand’s potential in the US market:

That’s what Scout does. It gives you a brand with credibility, it gives you the name with the character, and it allows us to plunge into the two biggest profit pools in America (pickups and SUVs). That’s the strategic intent, and that’s exactly what we’re executing.

I think the smart thing, though, is to structure the company with a clean slate as a startup, so you’re not inheriting the legacy challenges. A company which the (Volkswagen) Group is, of 660,000 employees is going to have a whole different series of systems and processes than a startup that right now has 350 employees. So I think that was the genius of this thing. It’s allowing us to execute at a good pace and good speed as opposed to always following the prescribed path.

Keogh sees Scout’s electric trucks as something other than a brand for one particular audience. We’ve been assured they’re badass and “robust,” designed to tackle the elements and stay true to the legacy of trucks that inspired it. The CEO imagines Scout’s image to become something similar to Levi’s as a “cool, iconic American brand.” They can be worn out to a nice sushi dinner in Malibu and on the dirt paths of a construction site.

That being said, if you think the Volkswagen Group sub-brand is just reviving a popular name from the ’70s, polishing it up, and electrifying it for consumers to get groceries in, that’s not the goal. Keogh elaborated:

In terms of our competitors, I think in my mind we want to make what we would call sort of a tribe community type of vehicle. Not a mainstream ‘just another SUV.’ Who has done a great job of this to give credit? I think certainly Bronco has done a good job of this, I think at the higher-end Defender has done a fantastic job of this; Wrangler obviously has its thing. So, the part will have a point of view but it’s definitely going to be more in the camp of ‘we’re not building something to navigate the strip malls of America,’ were building something like, ‘navigate America.’ So I think it’s going to be a community, cool oriented car.

Keogh relayed that the final design of its first two trucks is super close, with the engineering of the EVs not far behind. The young automaker intends to unveil both models this summer but told us production will require some cadence while the plant continues to scale. Which model will be built first has yet to be determined… or at least made public.

Scout will acquire battery cells from an outside supplier but intends to assemble its own modules in-house at the South Carolina facility. The company is still determining the most effective sales strategy for Scout Brand trucks and continues to explore all options.

We will learn more as the official debut of Scout’s first two electric trucks approaches in Q3. Stay tuned. Want to see more? Here’s Scout’s animated rendering of the incoming US facility:

Source: Scout Motors

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Block leads rebound in fintech stocks as analysts downplay JPMorgan data fee risk

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Block leads rebound in fintech stocks as analysts downplay JPMorgan data fee risk

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies during a remote video hearing held by subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee on “Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation” in Washington, U.S., March 25, 2021.

Handout | Via Reuters

Block jumped more than 5% on Monday, leading a rally in shares of fintech companies as analysts downplayed the threat of JPMorgan Chase’s reported plan to charge data aggregators for access to customer financial information.

The recovery followed steep declines on Friday, after Bloomberg reported that JPMorgan had circulated pricing sheets outlining potential fees for aggregators like Plaid and Yodlee, which connect fintech platforms to users’ bank data.

In a note to clients on Monday, Evercore ISI analysts said the potential new expenses were “far from a ‘business model-breaking’ cost increase.”

In addition to Block’s rise, PayPal climbed 3.5% on Monday after sliding Friday. Robinhood and Shift4 recorded modest gains.

Broader market momentum helped fuel some of the rebound. The Nasdaq closed at a record, and crypto rallied, with bitcoin climbing past $123,000. Ether, solana, and other altcoins also gained.

JPMorgan announces plans to charge for access to customer bank data

Evercore ISI’s analysts said that even if JPMorgan’s changes were implemented, the most immediate effect would be a slight bump in the cost of one-time account setups — perhaps 50 to 60 cents.

Morgan Stanley echoed that view, writing that any impact would be “negligible,” especially for large fintechs that rely more on debit, credit, or stored balances than bank account pulls for transactions.

PayPal doesn’t anticipate much short-term impact, according to a person with knowledge of the issue. The person, who asked not to be named in order to speak about private financial matters, noted that PayPal relies on aggregators primarily for account verification and already has long-term pricing contracts in place.

While smaller fintechs that depend heavily on automated clearing house (ACH) rails or Open Banking frameworks for onboarding and compliance may face real pressure if the fees take effect, analysts said the larger platforms are largely insulated.

WATCH: Congress moves to redraw $3.7 trillion crypto market rules, opening door to Wall Street

Congress moves to redraw $3.7 trillion crypto market rules, opening door to Wall Street

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EV sales hit 9.1M globally in H1 2025, but the US just hit the brakes

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EV sales hit 9.1M globally in H1 2025, but the US just hit the brakes

The global EV market is still charging ahead. According to new numbers from global research firm Rho Motion, 9.1 million EVs were sold worldwide in the first half of 2025, up 28% compared to the same period last year. But not every region is accelerating at the same pace.

China and Europe are doing the heavy lifting

More than half of the world’s EVs this year have been bought in China. That market hit 5.5 million sales in the first six months of 2025 – a 32% jump year-over-year. Around half of new cars bought in China are now electric.

While some Chinese cities’ subsidies have dried up, Rho Motion expects momentum to pick back up later in the year as more funding is released.

In Europe, 2 million EVs were sold in the first half of the year, up 26%. Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales also rose 26%, thanks in part to affordable models like the Renault 4 (pictured) and 5 entering the market. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) weren’t far behind, growing 27% year-to-date. Chinese automakers are leaning into PHEVs as a way to work around the EU’s new tariffs on BEVs.

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Spain is leading the pack with EV sales soaring 85% so far this year. Its generous MOVES III incentive program was extended in April and has kept sales strong. The UK and Germany are also seeing solid growth – 32% and 40%, respectively. France, however, is slumping. With subsidies cut, EV sales there have dropped 13%.

North America is stuck in the slow lane

Things aren’t looking quite as bright in North America. EV sales in the US, Canada, and Mexico are up just 3% so far this year.

Mexico is the one bright spot, with a 20% boost. The US is up 6%. But Canada is down a whopping 23%.

And things could get bumpier. On July 4, Trump signed Congress’s big bill into law, which axes all the Inflation Reduction Act EV tax credits. Those consumer credits for EVs now officially end on September 30.

Just over half of the EVs sold in the US this year qualified for those credits. Rho Motion predicts a rush in Q3 before the subsidies disappear – and a decline in sales after that.

Rho Motion data manager Charles Lester said, “With Trump’s latest cuts in his ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ the US could struggle to see any growth in the EV market overall in 2025.”

Global EV sales snapshot, H1 2025 vs H1 2024

  • Global: 9.1 million (+28%)
  • China: 5.5 million (+32%)
  • Europe: 2.0 million (+26%)
  • North America: 0.9 million (+3%)
  • Rest of world: 0.7 million (+40%)

Read more: China breaks records as global EV sales hit 7.2 million in 2025


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The Lucid Air is crushing the competition as the best-selling luxury EV sedan in the US

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The Lucid Air is crushing the competition as the best-selling luxury EV sedan in the US

Lucid’s electric sedan can drive further, charge faster, and packs more advanced tech than most of the competition. That might explain why it’s leading the segment. The Lucid Air remained the best-selling luxury EV sedan in the US after widening its lead in the Q2.

The Lucid Air is America’s best-selling luxury EV sedan

The 2025 Lucid Air Pure arrived as the “World’s most efficient car” with an EPA-estimated range of 420 miles and a record 146 MPGe.

It just set a new Guinness World Record last week for the longest journey by an electric car after travelling 749 miles (1,205 km) on a single charge.

That record was set in the range-topping Lucid Air Grand Touring model, which is rated for up to 512 miles of EPA-estimated range. On the WLTP scale, it’s rated at 597 miles (960 km). Either way, it still crushed the estimates.

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According to second-quarter sales data, released by Kelley Blue Book on Monday, the Lucid Air is still America’s best-selling luxury EV.

Lucid sold 2,630 Air models in Q2, up 10% from the previous year. Through the first half of 2025, Lucid Air sales are up 17% with 5,094 units sold.

Lucid-Air-best-selling-luxury-EV-sedan
Lucid Air (Source: Lucid)

Tesla, on the other hand, only sold 1,435 Model Ss during the quarter, 71% fewer than it did in Q2 2024. Tesla Model S sales in the US are down 70% through the first half of the year at 2,715.

Although Porsche Taycan sales were up 32% with 1,064 models sold, the significantly upgraded 2025 model year was expected to see even more demand. Porsche has 2,083 Taycans in the US this year, up just 1% from 2024.

Lucid-best-selling-luxury-EV-sedan
Lucid Air Pure interior (Source: Lucid)

Other luxury EV sedans, such as the BMW i5 (1,434), i7 (820), and the Mercedes EQS (498), experienced steep double-digit sales declines year-over-year.

And it’s not just electric luxury sedans. The Lucid Air is currently outselling many gas-powered vehicles in its segment.

Lucid-Air-best-selling-luxury-EV-sedan
Lucid Air (left) and Gravity (right) Source: Lucid

Lucid’s first electric SUV, the Gravity, is also rolling out. Although only five were sold in the second quarter, Lucid is quickly scaling production. Lucid aims to produce 20,000 vehicles this year, more than double the roughly 9,000 it built in 2024.

Earlier today, Lucid’s interim CEO, Marc Winterhoff, confirmed during an interview with Bloomberg that the company expects higher Gravity output in the second half of the year.

The interview was at the grand opening of Panasonic’s new battery cell plant in De Soto, Kansas. Winterhoff said Lucid will start using new cells from the facility, but not until next year.

Lucid’s CEO stressed the importance of establishing a local supply chain, as policy changes under the Trump Administration are taking effect. Lucid and Panasonic are collaborating to localize EV materials, such as graphite. Last month, Lucid secured a multi-year supply agreement with Graphite One for US-sourced Graphite.

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