EXCLUSIVE GM turns to supplier to build initial EV vans while it readies plant in Canada -sources

DETROIT, July 12 (Reuters) - General Motors Co (GM.N) is turning to a German parts supplier to make the initial, small production run of its new electric commercial van in a move to get the vehicle quickly into the hands of customer Fedex(FDX.N), three people familiar with the matter said.

The decision to use Kuka AG (KU2G.DE) to build the EV600 vans is not typical in the industry. But it shows the No. 1 U.S. automaker's desire to stick to a plan to roll out the vehicle in late 2021, according to two people who asked not to be identified and a union official at GM's CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, that will ultimately build the van.

GM announced the BrightDrop commercial van business in January.

"They just want to get them going," Mike Van Boekel, chairman of Unifor Local 88, which represents about 1,500 hourly workers at the Canadian plant, said of the decision to use Kuka. "The orders are coming through so strong."