VW builds Scout plant in South Carolina and raises dividend – share increases

Dusseldorf Despite the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis, Volkswagen is optimistic about the coming financial year: Europe’s largest carmaker wants to clear the production backlog this year and process the orders – if the supply of microchips and raw materials improves, this should also boost sales.

In addition, the Supervisory Board gave the go-ahead for a new production plant for the Scout brand in the USA. Scout Motors announced on Friday after the board meeting that a production plant is to be built near Columbia, South Carolina, for a cost of two billion dollars. There, electric pickups and SUVs of the next generation should roll off the assembly line.

After the deliveries of the largest European car group in 2022 slipped by seven percent to almost 8.3 million vehicles, mainly due to supply problems, the goals are now higher: the group wants to achieve 15 percent more sales and 9.5 million vehicles delivered in 2023.