Electric Last Mile, Inc., an electric vehicle company focused on commercial and delivery fleet vehicles, plans to establish operations and launch production at the former AM General commercial plant in Mishawaka, Indiana.

Subject to the completion of ELMS' recently announced business combination with Forum Merger III Corporation, the company plans to invest $300 million and create up to 960 new jobs by the end of 2024. According to state officials ELMS will add up to 140 positions by the end of 2021 and ramp up hiring over the next few years.

“Indiana was a natural choice for us given our product roadmap, the highly-trained and motivated workforce, and the logistics of moving finished goods within the U.S.," said Jim Taylor, co-founder and CEO of ELMS. "We couldn’t be more pleased to launch our production operations in Indiana.”

The facility is expected to support the production and assembly of ELMS’ electric Urban Delivery vehicle, with the capacity to manufacture up to 100,000 vehicles annually.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) offered ELMS up to $10 million in conditional tax credits and up to $200,000 in conditional training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. The IEDC also offered up to $2.8 million in conditional tax credits from the Hoosier Business Investment (HBI) tax credit program based on the company’s planned capital investment in Indiana. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning the company is eligible to claim incentives once Hoosiers are hired. St. Joseph County will consider additional incentives at the request of the St. Joseph County Division of Economic Development.

"ELMS' decision to fuel its growth in Indiana is a testament to the state’s business-friendly environment, strong automotive sector and skilled, diverse workforce," said Governor Eric J. Holcomb. "We're excited ELMS is choosing to launch production at the former AM General facility in Mishawaka and look forward to supporting their growth as the company delivers advanced electric vehicle solutions and creates hundreds of quality career opportunities for Hoosiers."

ELMS’ commercial electric vehicles will offer efficient last mile solutions for commercial fleet providers. The company’s electric Urban Delivery vehicle is expected to provide 170 cubic feet of cargo space, 150 miles of range capacity, and advanced onboard and wireless data capabilities to optimize fleet planning and tracking. Once launched, the vehicle is expected to be the only Class 1 EV in the U.S.