Blythewood, SC – Scout Motors backed by Volkswagen is doing A massive bet In the SUV Electric market with a carefully cultivated experience that will allow some customers to buy the company’s vehicle in minutes in an application and then use it to handle everything after repairs to updates and updates.
But without the help of legislators, that will be impossible in South Carolina, where the company is investing billions in its new automotive plant and a Scout engines experience such as BMW’s test track in Greer.
In a world where almost everything can be bought online, cars remain an exception. The supporters of the concessionaire model say that the experience allows buyers to compare prices in several businesses.
Unlike a pair of pants, where color, style and size are the only concerns, buying a car implies financing, state registration, taxes, regulations and often a handling test.
South Carolina is one of the approximately two dozen states that prohibits manufacturers to sell vehicles directly to consumers and, on the other hand, require that all new cars buy through a dealership. Scout would like to see that the practice changed throughout the country for all EV manufacturers and thought it could start in its new backyard.
South Carolina also prohibits manufacturers from having their own service centers, which means that anyone who wants to have a SUV scout must travel to another state to repair or attend.
People who support the structure of the dealership said online sales could lead to car manufacturers to increase their own prices with less competition.
The concessionaire structure requires that local businesses support what they sell and ensure that buyers obtain a quality service in their vehicles. Automobile dealers often have close links with their communities and cities could lose one of their great businesses and the strongest taxpayers.
“If for some reason the car is a lemon or work is not done, they are the people who live there, who pay their taxes and send their children to school,” said Republican Senator Larry Grooms, who directs the Senate Committee of transport where any bill that changes the rules would probably end.
Scout is determined to Change the law To help them, as well as other EV manufacturers such as Tesla and Rivian. They have gone to a media bombardment that includes stories at local points of sale. They are also trying to ensure support in a state dominated by Republicans on the grounds that consumers should be free to buy what they want directly, without an intermediary.
Scout is also armed with an office of the 2000 prosecutor opinion On the bill that weeks later would become law and serve as the most recent important review of South Carolina’s laws on the purchase of new cars.
“If a manufacturer cannot sell its own product, but must constitutionally approve that product through an ‘intermediary’, then our understanding of the free market system is out of place. Internet is a world trade website, not a local instrument for protectionism, “wrote the then Attorney General of the Republican State Charlie Condon in the opinion, which is not binding and an educated assumption about what a judge could do if someone demanded to the law.
Scout officials say that using a business model only with dealers would make vehicles aimed at less than $ 60,000 complicate what the company wants to be a perfect experience, from beginning to end.
Governor Henry McMaster promotes the Scout plant in Blythewood as one of his greatest economic development scores, the Republican has been both in the innovative of February 2024 of the mass installation and in this month’s ceremony to mark the work from A new interest exchange of $ 150 million. Paying to help obtain workers, pieces and new SUV entering and leaving.
McMaster recently said that he wants to protect dealers, but also wants to let Scout sell directly.
“In recent years with Internet and Amazon and all customers are looking for their freedom and that ability to order things directly without an intermediary,” McMaster said.
Scout is trying to find a niche in a growth of growing electric vehicles but uncertain of the United States. Uu. The choice of President Donald Trump could threaten the industry, both through fiscal credits and tariffs that could increase prices.
The original Scout Motors made vehicles with gasoline for about 20 years when it was owned by International Harvester. Production ended in 1980, but its shape and characteristics continue to influence modern SUVs. Explorers have had a niche collector fans base since then.
The new Scout Motors is trying to take advantage of a combination of nostalgia and technology. The key to Scout’s success will be its application, said Scout Cody Thacker’s growth vice president.
View an explorers buyer by moving through types and colors, performance and comfort options and hundreds of other options. Financing, degree and paperwork would be handled in minutes instead of the hours it has been in the dealers. That custom SUV could be delivered to the buyer’s door.
“You see the dispute point and the great opportunity,” Thacker said.
The Scout plant is expected in Blythewood, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Columbia, open in 2027 and use up to 4,000 people if the company can reach its goal of making and selling 200,000 vehicles per year.
Scout also wants to build a center where people can try vehicles on a track owned by the company and make tours. To work, the company wants to sell someone a vehicle after approaching the site, Thacker said.
South Carolina agreed in 2023 to give Scout more than $ 1 billion in incentives To land the plant. At that time, the concessionaire law was not in its radar. It emerged when executives began to look at their business model, Thacker said.
The company does not regret choosing South Carolina and still believes that it gave them the best workforce, economic climate and infrastructure. And it will advance if the law is not changed to sell its vehicles through other states where you can obtain national licenses that send the state’s money and tax benefits, Thacker said.
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