Scout Motors breaks ground on US facility where it will build its all-electric off-road trucks

Published

11 months ago

February 15, 2024

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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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Environment

Texans can now join a VPP and get 2 sonnen batteries at no upfront cost

Published

5 hours ago

January 17, 2025

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Texans can now join a VPP and get 2 sonnen batteries at no upfront cost

A groundbreaking new Virtual Power Plant Power Purchase Agreement (VPA) provides Texans with solar panels and two 20 kWh sonnen batteries at no upfront cost.

A new sonnen storage + solar VPP for Texans

SOLRITE Energy, which finances solar and battery storage, and global battery storage manufacturer sonnen today announced the launch of their new VPA in Texas’s ERCOT market. This program offers solar and battery storage for homeowners at an affordable monthly rate, making backup power accessible for many Texans.

Here’s how it works: SOLRITE installs solar panels and sonnen batteries at eligible customer households with no upfront cost. (I’ve asked the sonnen spokesperson what the eligibility criteria are and will update this post when I hear back.) Homeowners then pay a lower-than-average rate for the solar energy they produce each month, saving them money compared to typical electricity rates in Texas.

Texans participating in the SOLRITE program pay a leading rate of 12¢ per kWh for solar energy, significantly lower than the 19-20¢ per kWh rate commonly seen in the state.

The sonnen batteries provide backup power for each home at no charge and enable Texan homeowners to join a larger virtual power plant (VPP) network. The VPP supports the Texas grid, reducing reliance on polluting power plants during times of high demand. SOLRITE and sonnen generate revenue from the energy stored in these batteries, which helps cover the cost of the equipment, and that’s what allows homeowners to use the battery systems at no cost.

Each day, the sonnen batteries in the VPP help balance the Texas grid by directing power where it’s needed most and when it’s most valuable. This reduces energy costs for everyone, whether they’re in the VPP or not, and strengthens the grid’s efficiency and resilience.

The VPP also differs from traditional solar buyback programs that send extra energy to the grid whenever it’s sunny. Instead, the sonnen battery network strategically controls when and how energy is shared with the ERCOT grid, making solar energy a more reliable power source.

Since September 2024, SOLRITE says it’s already committed over 40 megawatt-hours of residential battery power to the Texas market through this program, working with solar installers statewide.

Blake Richetta, chairman and CEO of sonnen Inc. USA said:

The bold and inventive SOLRITE introduction in the Texas market represents the most successful early-stage launch of the sonnenConnect VPP in the world.

sonnen is proud to dispatch authentic VPPs across the United States and Australia, as well as the largest behind-the-meter residential battery based VPP in the European Union – with nerve centers in Germany, Italy and Belgium, amongst other countries.

And in all of these markets, we have never seen anything like the SOLRITE Texas launch. We are so proud of the SOLRITE invention, and we are passionate to build a SOLRITE-Future for Texas.

Electrek’s Take

I belong to a virtual power plant in Vermont and have two Tesla Powerwalls, and I love being part of this program. I lease my Powerwalls for $55 a month and had to pay a couple thousand dollars to have them installed, so what sonnen and SOLRITE are offering to Texans is a really good deal.

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Environment

As Biden heads out, $43.7M goes to 25 EV charging accelerator projects

Published

7 hours ago

January 16, 2025

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As Biden heads out, .7M goes to 25 EV charging accelerator projects

The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation’s Communities Taking Charge Accelerator has awarded $43.7 million to 25 innovative EV charging projects across the US.

The Communities Taking Charge Accelerator was launched on April 16, 2024, and the funding comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The three main goals of the funding are to expand access to electrified mobility options for folks who don’t have access to home charging, accelerate opportunities for fleet electrification, and improve and advance managed charging systems to mitigate impacts and optimize usage of the grid.

On January 15, 25 project awardees were announced that impact 23 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Challenges that the projects will address include:

Solving for no-home charging. Not everyone has a driveway or garage to charge their EVs, e-bikes, or scooters. Projects are testing creative solutions like curbside chargers, multifamily charging setups, and shared community micromobility hubs. They also look at everything from rate design to building multimodal charging hubs, making it easier for people in apartments or urban areas to power up.

In this project, for example, Voltpost will install lamppost EV chargers in San Francisco using existing infrastructure.

Electrifying fleets for people and goods. Think of shared rides, carpool services, and last-mile delivery trucks. Electrifying these types of light- and medium-duty fleets could have a huge impact on reducing emissions. These projects aim to figure out how to charge fleets more efficiently, whether they’re transporting people or goods. It’s all about improving community access to clean transportation options while keeping operations smooth for fleet operators.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s project allows Metro Bike Share to increase access to electric bikes by implementing electrified stations with in-dock charging.

Managed charging for clean reliable energy. Managed charging is about coordinating when and how EVs charge to avoid grid strain and use renewable energy whenever possible. Projects in this area are working on open-source tools and standards to make managed charging tech accessible and easy to integrate into today’s energy systems.

The University of Alabama is running a project to develop and implement an end-to-end multi-stakeholder EV charging management framework to enhance grid reliability.

Gabe Klein, executive director of the Joint Office, said, “This investment aims to expand transportation and energy infrastructure to meet the current and anticipated demands – from how people charge and use shared vehicle fleets including e-bikes around transit hubs to a new model for more affordable multifamily housing charging – advancing a more holistic energy and transportation ecosystem.”

Electrek’s Take

The Biden administration has been rapidly doling out funds to clean energy and EV projects, and it’s great to see the Communities Taking Charge Accelerator funds reach its recipients at the 11th hour. There are some great projects, which you can check out here.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate partner

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Environment

Tesla says a new way to clean cameras are coming

Published

8 hours ago

January 16, 2025

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Tesla says a new way to clean cameras are coming

Tesla announced on X that it is working on a new way to keep the cameras clean on the Cybertruck.

Hopefully, it will make its way to other Tesla vehicles because it is a common problem with the performance of its advanced driver assist systems (ADAS).

When driving using Tesla’s Autopilot or Full Self-Driving (Supervised) suite of driver-assist features, you will often get an alert that the system might not work properly because “one or more cameras are obstructed” due to dirt or snow coming off the road and into the lenses.

For Cybertruck, that’s an even problem because the rear-view camera is the only way to look behind the vehicle when the tonneau cover is up.

It led to some owners complaining that they need to remember to clean the camera at the back of the truck almost every time they use it, especially in the winter.

Tesla responded to some of those comments through its ‘Tesla AI’ account on X. One owner specifically asked if Tesla is planning a solution for when it achieves “unsupervised self-driving” because it then can’t expect someone to always be able to clean the cameras and Tesla responded:

On a more serious note, a more comprehensive cleaning solution is being worked on.

Tesla didn’t elaborate on the solution or when it would be available.

Back in 2019, we reported on Tesla applying for a patent on technology “to use laser beams to clean debris off its cars automatically.” It mused that it could be used to clean cameras, but nothing came out of the patent application.

Tesla says that it plans to achieve unsupervised self-driving capability in California and Texas around Q2 2025, but the latest data makes this sound extremely unlikely, to say the least.

Electrek’s Take

I doubt that it will be lasers, though it would be cool, but there’s undoubtedly a need for a solution.

In my own experience with FSD in the Quebec winter, I get alerts of obstructed cameras literally every other drive.

Tesla has already implemented heaters, which help some, but other than the front-facing cameras, which benefit from the windshield wipers, there’s a need for more.

What’s interesting here is Tesla basically admits that for unsupervised self-driving, which was part of the question it answered, it needs to add extra hardware to make it work.

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