Chevrolet Volt will be a little tough to find this summer

July 16, 2011July 16, 2011 Omar Rana Chevrolet Volt, electric-cars, electric-vehicles, LEAF, Nissan LEAF, Nissan LEAF EV, plug-in hybrids, Volt

GM has temporarily put a stop to the production of the increasingly popular Chevrolet Volt. If you’re looking to purchase a Volt in the next couple of months, you may have a hard time finding one, as there are only around 200 up for grabs in the U.S. at the moment.

As a planned lapse in production, Chevy took the month off to do some upgrades to the Detroit-Hamtramck plant, which is undergoing some pretty big changes this year. Some of the changes include expanded capacity to build more Volts and the European export, the Opel Ampera.

The Chevy Volt will be more widely available starting in August, and GM plans on producing 16,000 Volts by the end of 2011, with 3,500 expected to head overseas. Until recently, the Volt was outselling its biggest competitor, the Nissan LEAF.

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Refresher: The 2012 Chevrolet Volt is powered by 16-kWh, ‘T’-shaped lithium-ion battery that powers the electric drive unit, which allows it to drive 40 miles on battery power alone. The system puts out 149-hp and a maximum torque of 273 lb-ft, allowing the Volt to go from 0-60 mph in about 9 seconds, hitting a top speed of 100 mph. The battery can be re-charged by plugging into a household outlet and takes 4 hours to recharge on 240 volts, and about 10-12 hours on a standard 120-volt outlet. The Chevrolet Volt also carries an 84-hp 1.4 4-clyinder engine that allows the five-door, FWD sedan to travel additional miles while averaging a fuel-economy of 50 mpg. A fully charged battery and full tank of gas will allow the Volt to travel 379 miles. The 2012 Chevrolet Volt gets an EPA estimated 93 miles per ’gallon-equivalent’ when driving under electric power only, 37 mpg when in gasoline mode and over the long term it is estimated to get 60 miles per gallon in combined gasoline-powered and electric-powered driving. Prices for the 2012 Chevrolet Volt start at $39,995 but with a full federal income tax credit (which range from $0 to $7,500), the Volt can cost a total of $32,495.