It looks like General Motors (NYSE:GM) has serious plans to release the Chevy Volt — its second attempt at an electric car since the EV-1 — by next year, as GM announced today that the electric vehicle’s battery will be assembled in a Michigan-based factory.
According to the Detroit Free Press, GM disclosed that the lithium ion battery for the Chevy Volt will be made in LG Chem of South Korea but assembled at a factory in Michigan.
GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said the lithium-ion battery pack assembly facility will be the first in the U.S. operated by a major automaker. GM has not yet announced where the Volt battery assembly plant will be located.
While it’s too bad that the cells are being made abroad, at least Michigan was able to lure GM with tax incentives. In the future, it would be nice to see batteries created and assembled in the Motor City, but this is a step in the right direction. Let’s hope the Volt’s a popular vehicle so Michiganians will get some jobs out of this!