Two years ago, South Carolina lawmakers were tripping over themselves to give crony capitalist carmaker Scout Motors – a subsidiary of über-woke Volkswagen – a whopping $1.3 billion in taxpayer funded subsidies.
Spurred on by governor Henry McMaster, lawmakers rushed this massively ill-conceived handout through the legislature in just twelve days.
Now, lawmakers are openly questioning the wisdom of that deal as Scout – which has yet to complete its massive manufacturing facility near Blythewood, S.C. – is already back before the S.C. General Assembly seeking additional preferential treatment.
And more of your money…
As previously reported, Scout’s latest bid to rig the market – a crony capitalist carveout – would give the company yet another undeserved leg-up on its competitors. The bill – H. 3777 – would allow direct auto sales in South Carolina for companies which “own and operate a manufacturing factory or assembly plant” in the Palmetto State, companies which “manufacture or assembles vehicles propelled wholly or in part by an electric motor” and companies which have “no franchised dealers in this state in the ten-year period before this item became effective.”
In other words, just Scout.
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Used to getting what it wants from lawmakers, Scout no doubt expected its preferred legislation to breeze through a business and commerce subcommittee chaired by the lead sponsor of the bill.
That didn’t happen…
Scout executives appeared at the hearing on Wednesday (February 12, 2025) to testify in support of their handout – only to have the committee shut down debate on the legislation without advancing it.
“Scout Volkswagen knew or should have known the laws in South Carolina when they agreed to build a factory in South Carolina,” said Sims Floyd, executive vice president of the S.C. Automobile Dealers Association (SCADA).
Floyd’s testimony at the hearing offered a decisive rebuke of Scout’s “free market” spin.
“(The) free market is not free cash, despite popular opinion,” Floyd added. “Volkswagen received $1.3 billion in incentives and loans to be a manufacturer in South Carolina and build cars not to then become a retailer and then compete against their own retail dealer network.”
“This is, in fact, not a freedom of choice bill for the consumer ,” Floyd continued. “That is just a cloak to hide Volkswagen and Scout’s true intent, which is they want a carveout to compete against their own dealer network and also other manufacturers in South Carolina.”
Floyd’s arguments were clearly persuasive as lawmakers moved quickly to shut down the bill following his testimony.
(Click to view)
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“I would ask, out of consumer protection in itself, that we adjourn debate on this bill,” representative Chris Wooten noted.
As Wooten made his motion, multiple members of the subcommittee instantaneously seconded it – forcing a voice vote. The result of that tally? Unanimous adjournment.
That’s right… not a single lawmaker voted to move the bill forward.
In addition to the carveout, Scout’s leaders are asking for tens of millions in additional funding from the state for workforce training. McMaster has proposed $10 million in one-time funding for “EV training” at South Carolina’s technical college system and nearly $100 million in annual funding for EV industry scholarships from the S.C. Education Lottery.
Lawmakers should oppose those subsidies. They should oppose Scout’s proposed carveout. Meanwhile, they should support efforts by lawmakers like state senator Josh Kimbrell to ensure the money Scout has already been provided produces the outcomes taxpayers were promised – or is reclaimed.
Bigger picture? Lawmakers need to stop picking winners and losers in the marketplace with tax dollars. As this project – and the ill-fated courtship of the Carolina Panthers six years ago – proves conclusively, it’s a recipe for disaster.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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12 comments
Note: all of the massive Battery fires, i.e., Moss in California, etc. Scout will be storing lots of Lithium Batteries at its factory site. This poses an immediate threat to the Safety of our Citizens. How can our Fire Depts. deal with this possible disaster? Considering VW is almost Bankrupt in Germany, this entire factory may never be built. VW should change Scout from being an EV nobody is buying. To an ICE vehicle people are buying. And, one with zero lithium batteries that pose a direct threat to the safety and health of all Columbia Citizens, and our farmers. Whose fields will be destroyed by a large battery fire at the Scout factory.
If you’re such a supporter of the “free market”, shouldn’t you be calling for legislation that allows direct auto sales for all car companies?
$100M/year in perpetuity!?! Are they building a truck plant, or a university? For 2,000 – 4,000 employees, they must be sending them all to Harvard.
No more money or any additional incentives to Scout. If they don’t fulfill their agreement, legal action should be taken to recoup the state’s investment.
If Scout really believes in the free market as they claim, they should immediately turn down the $1.3 billion in tax incentives.
I grew up in Detroit, with close family members who worked in Ford automotive plants. There are boom times and busts in the car production business, and sometimes even big names disappear; Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Mercury, Saturn, etc. These were brands associated with large auto corporations, and they still couldn’t survive downturns in the economy. So even though Scout is backed by Volkswagon, the Scout venture was/is a high-risk venture with little chance to succeed. Gov McMaster and the politicians supporting him on this simply did not do any homework regarding the history of car manufacturing. Shameful! There have not been any auto start-ups in at least 80 years that have survived and become successful except for one: Elon Musk’s Tesla. And Scout Motors takes its name from International Harvester Scout, which also disappeared!
Scout Motors will never build the first vehicle,it will fail before it gets started ?
You’re a loser
I hope scout is extremely successful. They aren’t wrong that workforce development is still lacking in SC, but I’m not sure throwing more money at the issue is the answer.
We need a complete ban on all this electric garbage. They are garbage, catch on fire, and kill jobs. Woke socialist Elon Musk started this whole train wreck. RETURN TO GAS VEHICLES! DEPORT DEMOCRAT MUSK!
What a 1.3 BILLION Dollar Corrupt Agreement!! The Taxpayers of SC will be on The Hook For years! Even if the Factory is Built Those that will be Employed do NOT Understand they will be Paying The Bill from the Agreement!!
There are Many Roads and Bridges that Could be Built/Repaired with that 1.3 Billion Dollars that would Benefit ALL SC Taxpayers! Lupo Road in Beaufort County is a Terrible Road that Could have Benefited from ALL that Money!!
I’ll be surprised if ONE electric car is produced at Scout. They better have a PLAN B