With sales dwindling in China and plenty of headaches back home in Europe, the Volkswagen Group needs to squeeze out some wins in the U.S. market. Tomorrow, we're finally going to get at least a preview of how it intends to pull that off: electric trucks and SUVs from Scout Motors, the VW Group's revival of an iconic American off-road brand for a zero-emission future. And Scout Motors' debut is happening at a crucial time for America's EV investments.
That kicks off this midweek edition of Critical Materials, our morning roundup of auto industry and tech news. Be sure to also join us later this afternoon, as all eyes will be on Tesla for its Q3 earnings call. In the meantime, we're taking a look at other U.S. EV manufacturing investments and a troubling new report about injuries at Rivian's Illinois factory. Let's dig in.
30%: Scout Motors Concepts Debut Thursday
As you read this, I'll be headed down to Nashville, where Scout Motors will be unveiling its first electric concepts—yes, concepts, plural. Those are expected to be a truck and an SUV, and the shadowy teasers seen in this story are all we know about what they look like. (InsideEVs will feature the live stream tomorrow afternoon as well, so join us then if you want to follow along.)
Scout Motors is one of the more interesting efforts in the EV space right now. As we've covered before, the VW Group has been successful on this continent with brands like Audi and Porsche, but less so—or at least, nowhere near on the scale as in Europe or Latin America—with the main Volkswagen brand.
The conglomerate is trying some novel things here: it's a by-Americans, for-Americans effort with a unique platform, an all-new $2 billion factory in South Carolina expected to create 4,000 or more permanent jobs, and seems rather unique in the VW Group landscape. For instance, it's not so much a brand like Audi or Porsche, but a wholly owned subsidiary where Volkswagen is an investor. In theory, that should give it some insulation from the mothership and local direction.
The timing of the launch is certainly... interesting, I suppose I could say. We're now less than two weeks away from the most contentious presidential election in modern American history, and one where the two candidates diverge sharply on the question of incentives for EVs. Former President Donald Trump has vowed to revoke those if he's elected; how might that impact the Scout Motors effort, its tax incentives to go to South Carolina and even purchasing incentives for its eventual cars?
Then again, it may just be way too soon to know. The Scout vehicles aren't even expected to debut until 2027 or possibly 2028, and in terms of EV policy and technology, that may as well be 300 years away. There have also been persistent rumblings that the factory could make hybrid cars as well, though Scout Motors CEO Scott Keogh dismissed that idea when I spoke to him earlier this year.
Either way, this is going to be a very interesting debut to watch, and we hope you'll join us in taking a look.
60%: U.S. Working 'As Fast As It Can' For EV Factory Conversions
These days, plenty of people are unhappy about the idea of spending taxpayer dollars on electric vehicles, whether they're for EV purchasing or incentives aimed at manufacturing them. But the truth is that if any country with a real auto industry—the U.S., Japan, Germany, South Korea, whoever—wants to catch up to China's dominance in the electric space, they gotta pay to play. (By the way, China may now try and double its EV exports to counter various tariffs across the globe, according to Bloomberg.)
Right now, the U.S. is working to fast-track grants to convert existing auto plants to make EVs, reports Reuters:
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Tuesday the department is working "as fast as we can" to finalize $1.7 billion in grants to fund the conversion of plants to build electric vehicles and components.
"We are working as fast as we can to finalize as much as we can -- to get the commitments in contract with all of those who have been selected," Granholm said in an interview on the sidelines of a Reuters Next conference. "We have a few months to make sure that we're doing that."
Those investments include General Motors' Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant, as well as Stellantis' shuttered Belvidere Assembly and its Indiana Transmission Plant in Kokomo. In doing so, the hope is that the U.S. will be supporting future American manufacturing jobs that are prepared for a more electric tomorrow.
Again, the timing is interesting here. At least in that story, Granholm doesn't address it, but there seems to be a rush to get this stuff done before Trump potentially retakes the White House. But those investments could well be at stake here:
Earlier this month, UAW President Shawn Fain said hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs were at stake if Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump won the Nov. 5 election and made good on his threat to repeal investments in electric vehicles. Trump says EV production threatens U.S. jobs.
Democrats have seized on Trump's running mate, U.S. Senator JD Vance of Ohio, declining to commit to maintaining the $500 million GM grant.
The entire sector is going to be holding its breath over the next two weeks.
90%: Rivian Factory Faces Heat Over Alleged Worker Injuries, Accidents
As car startups tend to be, Rivian is in crunch mode right now. It's trying to get as many updated 2025 R1 models on the road as it can, all while it ramps up the more affordable R2 and R3 models so it can survive into the future.
But according to new data obtained from Bloomberg, Rivian has also now racked up more injury reports at its Normal, Illinois factory than any other automaker:
A cracked skull. A foot fracture. A back laceration so severe it required surgery. An amputated finger.
These are among the injuries suffered by workers at Rivian Automotive Inc., which has only one factory yet has racked up more US safety violations initially deemed “serious” than any other automaker since the start of last year. And there are incidents alleged by workers at the plant in Normal, Illinois, that haven’t made it into government reports. One former employee interviewed by Bloomberg News said she complained to doctors last year of vomiting bile with a “Rivian blue” hue after painting automobiles without a respirator.
The electric-vehicle maker received initial citations for 16 serious violations in the past 21 months from the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Volvo AB, Nissan Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. each received no more than 10. Volkswagen AG, BMW AG and Subaru Corp. saw none.
Fellow EV maker Tesla Inc. and Chrysler maker Stellantis NV, both with much larger workforces than Rivian, also received fewer initial serious citations. But unlike Rivian, Tesla also got three “repeat” violations, which carry heavier penalties, and Stellantis received two.
[...] But government findings and interviews with current and past employees at Rivian paint a picture of a money-losing company that struggled to put in place the procedures, equipment and training required to keep employees safe.
The allegations do have echoes of Tesla's "Production Hell" era, when it was struggling to ramp up the Model 3. Back then, its Fremont, California factory became infamous for alleged safety violations, constant injuries, abuse from managers and even blatant racism and sexism—all of which, workers have said, were ignored in the name of getting the cars made and on the road as quickly as possible.
Rivian, at least, says it's taking this head-on and disputed some of the story's claims. Here's the company's response:
Rivian says it’s devoted to worker safety. Committees regularly review factory processes and recommend changes, and employees can bring concerns to supervisors or report them anonymously, a spokesperson said in response to questions. Rivian says that its self-reported rate of work-related injuries and illnesses this year has been better than the industry average for light truck manufacturers in 2022, the latest full-year snapshot available. And OSHA itself says that since inspections began in late 2021, Rivian “has improved their safety and health team and are very cooperative with the OSHA process.”
Rivian says that as part of settlements with the agency, almost all of the violations OSHA initially labeled as serious were ultimately downgraded from that category or dismissed. “Initial citations should not be confused as final citations, and to suggest otherwise is incredibly misleading,” a Rivian spokesperson said.
100%: How Can Scout Motors Be Successful?
Like I said, 2027 or 2028 feel like eons from now. But given how uneven the EV market can be, Scout Motors may just be arriving at the right time—and the company swears that with this new factory in South Carolina, it's committed to playing the long game. What do you want to see out of its debut this week?
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
