GM's Volt is a first-year sellout

DETROIT, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- For 2011, General Motors' return to electric-powered vehicles has been a sellout success, the U.S. automaker said Monday.

GM said the production run for 2011 was set at 4,488 for the hybrid Chevrolet Volt and they've all been sold, except for 100 of them, which have already been spoken for as dealer demos and for study by GM engineers.

The Volt has sold at the average rate of 440 per month, the Detroit Free Press reported. It was launched in December.

Once the Volt makes it to the dealership, the average turnover time for a vehicle is 13 days.

The Volt is powered by batteries and gas. When the batteries run low, a small gasoline engine kicks in to keep the car going.

The Volt's main rival is the Nissan Leaf, a car powered only by an electric motor.

Through June, GM had sold 3,071 Volts, while Nissan had sold 3,894 Leafs.

GM, meanwhile, has increased its production schedule to 16,000 for 2011 and plans to make 60,000 in 2012. Eventually, GM plans to make 100,000 Volts per year.

Nissan, not resting on its laurels, said it had the capacity to build 150,000 Leafs per year at its plant in Smyrna, Tenn.