WILMINGTON, Del. -- Luxury automaker Fisker Automotive is buying a shuttered General Motors assembly plant in Delaware to produce plug-in hybrid electric cars, officials said Tuesday, according to The New York Times.

The California-based company has signed a letter of intent with Motors Liquidation Co., formerly known as General Motors Corp., to purchase the Wilmington plant for $18 million after a four-month evaluation period.

Fisker, which recently won approval for $528.7 million in government loans to develop plug-ins, expects to spend another $175 million to refurbish the facility before production of next-generation hybrids begins in late 2012.