When states' economic development authorities are fortunate enough to land an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing plant or battery plant, they are quick to tout the large number of jobs the investment will create in the plant itself, as well as the suppliers the plant will attract and the workers they in turn will hire.

"The rise of EVs matters because it stimulates demand in manufacturing and logistics real estate," CBRE noted in a recent article on the topic. "Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia, the buckle of the Battery Belt, are positioned to benefit, as well as some Midwestern areas, particularly in Michigan." The Battery Belt now extends from Detroit to Georgia, CBRE noted.

If the new plant is near a port – like the $5.4 billion EV plant South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group is building in Bryan County near Savannah on a the 2,923-acre megasite with capacity to build 300,000 vehicles a year – the effects may be even greater. A significant share of the cost — $4.3 billion – will go into building an adjacent EV battery manufacturing plant.