GM upgrading Volt manufacting capabilities to 60,000 vehicles per year in June

Volt supplies limited through the summer

But will they have the batteries?

Today, GM has the ability to produce 16,000 Chevy Volt plug-in vehicles per year. But later this summer, GM will upgrade and reconfigure its Volt manufacturing capabilities so that GM can produce up to 60,000 Volts per year.

But whether GM will have the battery supplies to produce 60,000 Volts per year is another matter.

Last week GM’s CEO Dan Akerson admitted that battery production was the “critical linchpin” to increased Volt production, helping to explain why Volt production so far is trending far short of a 16,000 vehicle pace for 2011. Unfortunately, supplies will decline even further over the next few months according to GM because of this upgrade.

Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether this new reconfiguration will resolve the current battery supply issue.

However, it is clear that this reconfiguration is not purely about US Volt production. The newly configured plant will also produce Europe’s version of the Volt, the Opel Ampera, as well as all Volts for any other markets outside the US.

Source: AP via Yahoo