According to the Department of Energy, GM is producing up to 10,000 Chevy Volts per month by next year. Likewise, Fisker could be selling 5 times as many electric cars as Tesla by 2013, despite not having yet sold 1 plug-in vehicle and already running into production problems.

Consequently, based on reported potential capacity for plug-in production by automakers, 1 million plug-in vehicles by 2015 is ambitious, but achievable according to the Department of Energy also known as DOE.

I don’t know, maybe the DOE’s projected production capacity is theoretically possible, but is it at all probable Or are these just numbers that automakers know they’ll never have to live up to, but are good to woo greenhorn investors including the government?

Just today the Detroit News, for instance, reported that GM was planning to produce 11,000 this year and 45,000 next year, but they’ll have the production capacity to produce 15,000 this year and 120,000 next year?

What’s the difference maker?

There’s plenty of tax credits for now. So is the difference between 45,000 Chevy Volt sales and 120,000 Volt sales next year based on the possibility of point of sale tax credits and other new forms of legislation?

And Fisker? Tesla has been in the plug-in game for a long time now, yet Fisker is going to quickly leapfrog Tesla? Today, I’m betting on Tesla, not Fisker.

Consequently, today, I can’t help but find the DOE’s numbers a little laughable, but if GM sells 120,000 next year, they might become my new favorite automaker. Who knows!