Government will buy 100 Volts from its subsidiary

NEW YORK -- The first customer for the upcoming Chevrolet Volt also happens to be its largest investor: the Obama administration.

The White House said Wednesday that the government will "purchase the first 100 plug-in electric vehicles to roll off American assembly lines" before the end of the year. The Volt, which GM describes as an extended range electric vehicle, is the only model fitting that description.

GM, which is 61% owned by the government, began building its first production Volts at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant Wednesday.

President Barack Obama has set a target of putting 1 million plug-in hybrids on U.S roads by 2015. In announcing a new plan for offshore oil drilling, Obama said Wednesday the government would double its purchases of hybrid vehicles to 5,000.