Charge! Chevy's Electric Car Is Ahead of Schedule

(MoneyWatch)  Get ready: General Motors is about to roll out the first Chevrolet Volts using production-scale processes. Sure, you've seen Volts at the shows and on the news, but those were hand-built prototypes.

"We've hinted that this is on the way, but now we're confirming it," According to Tony Posawatz, the Volt's line director. "We've been building the battery packs for a couple of months already, so that's ahead of schedule, too." GM had earlier said the first production cars would be produced late in the year. It's important to get Volts out into the market and before the public quickly because there are a number of electric vehicles (EVs) scheduled to hit the road in 2010. GM is rolling out the first cars as the New York International Auto Show, which starts next week, gives the company an opportunity to showcase the technology - and to let journalists try it out.

According to Posawatz, the Volt will be an economic boon to Michigan, because its suppliers are all over the state. GM's total Volt investment in Michigan is $700 million. Here's a breakdown of how the Volt is giving a jolt of life to the embattled Michigan economy.

Hamtramck. The plant that will assemble the Volt is in Hamtramck, a struggling city that is completely surrounded by Detroit. GM is investing $336 million in the Detroit-Hamtramck plant, which opened in 1985 and has 1,200 employees.

Grand Blanc. Tooling for the Volt.

Brownstown. Battery pack and module assembly.

Bay City. Camshafts and connecting rods for the 1.4-liter gas engine that (not connected to the wheels) serves as an electricity generator for the Volt.

Holland. The battery supplier LG Chem will open a plant in Holland in 2013 to make battery cells for the Volt. Today, most cells are produced in Asia, and this is a move to build domestic capacity. Posawatz said that shipping cells from Japan and Korea is expensive and time consuming because they require temperature-controlled packaging and are subject to duties and tariffs. Further, air carriers won't ship lithium, so the cells have to travel by slow boat.

Flint. Thanks to Michael Moore's movie, Roger and Me, Flint has become a symbol of auto industry abandonment. Flint isn't doing a whole lot better now, but Volt's dies and stamping work is being there. In the second model year, the Volt's gas engine will be built there.

There are other benefits to Michigan, Posawatz said. Each electric car will lead to the creation of two to three charging stations, creating economic opportunity for that sector.