First 2011 Chevrolet Volt built on production tooling at Detroit Hamtramck plant, March 31, 2010

First 2011 Chevrolet Volt built on production tooling at Detroit Hamtramck plant, March 31, 2010

While prototypes of the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Volt have been running around the streets of America for the past several months, the first customer delivered car won’t be built until production officially kicks off on November 11, 2010.

The information comes from people familiar with the Volt's launch activities and was confirmed to Translogic. The official start of production, dubbed “Job 1” by industry pundits, is crucial as it gives a better indication as to how long customers can expect to wait for the first cars. Dealers, too, also get a better estimation of how many cars will be delivered to them. In fact, dealers receiving the car in California, Michigan and Washington D.C. won't learn how many Volts they'll get their hands on until November 17, the date the official dealer allocations are posted online.

As for production numbers, GM has previously revealed that it will build 10,000 Volts between the start of production and the end of 2011, and a further 45,000 in 2012. The Volt will be manufactured at GM’s Hamtramck plant near Detroit, Michigan.

Interestingly, the start of production of the Volt is expected to coincide with a planned IPO from GM. One thing’s for certain, there will be a huge media effort being launched to drum up as much excitement as possible for the new Volt.

[Aol Autos]