SC Bill to Allow Direct EV Sales Stalls
A bill that would have allowed Scout Motors and other EV makers to sell directly to South Carolinians has stalled in committee. Charleston’s WCSC reports the Consumer Freedom Act is unlikely to get a vote before the state legislature adjourns in May.
A subcommittee heard “just about an hour” of testimony Monday from representatives of Scout Motors, a division of Volkswagen Group, as well as auto dealers, before adjourning debate, according to WCSC’s Jeffrey Collins and Zachary Bordner.
Underlying the debate is the fact that South Carolina legislators granted Scout more than $1 billion to build its factory in Blythewood, near the state capital of Columbia.
Asked for comment after the proceedings, Greenville VW dealer Marc White appeared satisfied with the outcome.
“The last thing I would ever want is for the state to give Scout more than a billion dollars and then have them competing against my own family business that we built without any government assistance,” White told WCSC.
