Auto companies are investing in electric vehicle production. Will SC get a new plant?

The electric car industry is set to take off in 2022, but will South Carolina get a piece of the manufacturing pie?

According to experts, South Carolina is a prime candidate to see investment for making either electric cars or the batteries that power them.

In some ways, electric vehicle and battery manufacturers are already coming to South Carolina. In December, Proterra announced a $76 million investment in an electric vehicle battery production plant in Greer. BMW has already promised to build electric vehicles in its South Carolina plant in Greer, according to Forbes. Volvo, which has a manufacturing facility in Berkeley County, also plans to produce an all-electric SUV in South Carolina, according to CNBC.

It’s possible even more electric vehicle or battery companies could be coming to the Palmetto State. The market for electric cars is growing faster than companies can produce the batteries, said Bernard Swiecki of the Center for Automotive Research, an international, non-profit group that seeks to boost the competitiveness of the U.S. automotive industry.

“It’s a bit of a land rush,” Swiecki said.

Last month, Vietnamese car maker VinFast told Reuters it plans to assemble and eventually build batteries at a U.S. location. The company CEO told Reuters it had narrowed down its U.S. locations to three possible places, but did not name the locations.

It’s unclear whether more investment in electric vehicle or battery plants could be in South Carolina’s near future. S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster spokesman Brian Symmes said the the governor doesn’t comment on efforts to recruit specific businesses to South Carolina.

“The governor and the Department of Commerce are always looking to attract . . . new and growing industries. We’ve had great success in the past,” Symmes said.

The S.C. Department of Commerce also said specific economic development projects are confidential until they are finalized, but spokeswoman Alex Clark indicated state officials are looking to attract new investment in the electric vehicle industry.

“South Carolina is well-positioned for the electric vehicle industry. In general, our state is continuing to grow its manufacturing sector, leaning into advanced, innovative territory in various industries which certainly includes electric vehicles and/or the batteries that power them,” Clark said in an email. “We have a robust automotive ecosystem in place to help support these industries, and South Carolina continues to put a high priority on adequately training our talent to meet the needs of modern manufacturers.”

Asked if S.C. would be a good candidate for new electric car investment, Swiecki said: “Yes, it absolutely could. South Carolina has a very good track record of attracting automotive investment and right now we are in a wave of the automotive industry announcing the electrification assembly plants.”

Automakers tend to look for states that have existing support for the auto industry, an educated workforce, the possibility of receiving tax incentives and a local desire for electric cars, said Joel Levin, the president of Plug In America, a non-profit advocacy group that promotes the use of electric vehicles.

Given that electric vehicles are sold worldwide, access to a port is also an important factor, Swiecki said. In the 2021 fiscal year, more than 253,000 finished cars passed through South Carolina ports, according to the South Carolina Ports’ annual report.

While it’s not impossible S.C. could see electric vehicle investment from the traditional, American auto giants such as Ford, General Motors or Chrysler, car companies often like to keep their new operations somewhat close to their existing factories, in part to cut down on transportation costs, Levin said.

For example, Tesla’s Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada, is just a few hours down the road from the company’s California plant, Levin said.

What’s more likely is for South Carolina to see an investment from either an industry newcomer such as VinFast or from companies that already have a footprint in South Carolina.

“Volvo and BMW both have pretty significant electric car programs (in S.C.) at this point and must be exploring what options they have in the United States,” Geller said.

South Carolina’s neighboring states have recently landed major electric car investments. North Carolina in December snagged a $1.3 billion investment from Toyota to eventually create at least 1,750 jobs and build electric vehicle batteries there, according to the News and Observer of Raleigh. Also in December, electric vehicle company Rivian Automotive announced in December it would spend $5 billion building a factory in Georgia, according to the New York Times. The Georgia plant is expected to create at least 7,500 jobs.

While electric trucks have been available in small quantities for years, the typical image of a widely produced all-electric car conjures images of a coupe or sedan similar to a Nissan Leaf or a Chevrolet Volt. That’s changing, however. As electric batteries become cheaper and higher quality, electric trucks are set to revolutionize the way consumers view electric cars, Levin said.

Electric vehicles are also likely to become more practical as $5 billion in federal money is used to install electric vehicle charging points.

Rural states love pickup trucks, and the desire for pickups could be a selling point for a company that wants to build them in the Palmetto State, Levin said. According to iSeeCars.com, which analyzed 1.5 million used car sales from July 2020 to June 2021, 17.6% of vehicles on S.C. roads are pickup trucks, which is above the national average.

“If this factory is to assemble pickup trucks, being close to demand for pickup trucks would be compelling,” Levin said.

Compared to their internal combustion counterparts, electric pickup trucks offer more than just storage, ruggedness and a country aesthetic, according to advocates of electric vehicles.

The ability to use an electric pickup as a source of power could be a game changer for construction workers, campers and tailgaters, Geller said. Contractors, for example, could plug in heavy equipment into the 240 volt outlet on the new, electric Ford F-150 to avoid having to bring a generator, Geller said.

Plus, electric vehicles have fewer moving parts than a gasoline-powered car, meaning there are fewer things that can break or require maintenance, Geller said.

“I have always thought that as soon as electric pickups become available, the folks who use electric pickup trucks… for work will find it to be such a superior vehicle,” Geller said.

Levin is even more bullish on the broader impacts of electric vehicles.

“It’s more than just a means of transportation. It’s a source of remote power,” Levin said.

The changes electric cars will bring to society are so far-reaching, Levin compared it to the introduction of the smart phone. For example, once camera phones, and later smart phones, became ubiquitous, the price of high-definition cameras plummeted, making it affordable to install cameras in everyday goods. Levin said the proliferation of high-capacity batteries originally developed for electric vehicles could have massive impacts on society, impacts that will only increase as battery-making becomes more efficient.

“The reason we’re seeing all these electric vehicles coming to market today, and not 10 years ago, is the radical changes to battery technology,” Levin said. “(Electric vehicles) are a little more expensive than gasoline cars, all that cost is in the battery and that cost keeps going down and down and down.”

This story was originally published February 18, 2022 at 10:56 AM.