Scout Motors, Inc. is establishing its first manufacturing plant in the Columbia submarket of Blytheville, SC, where it will build trucks and SUVs harkening back to the Scout vehicles produced from 1960 to 1980.

Greg Lubar and Matt Jackson of JLL represented Scout Motors in the site selection. Groundbreaking is planned for mid-2023 and production is projected to begin by the end of 2026.

The site spans approximately 1,600 acres (with the plant itself occupying 1,100 acres), is bordered by I-77 and sits less than 20 miles north of Columbia with proximity to ports of Charleston and Savannah and universities focused on automotive engineering.

The $2 billion investment has the potential to create 4,000 or more permanent jobs. At full capacity, more than 200,000 Scout vehicles may be produced annually at the facility.

SC has over 500 automotive-related companies and 75,000 automotive industry employees, according to Scout Motors, and the state is No. 1 in the U.S. for export sales of both completed passenger vehicles and tires.