Look out, Toyota (NYSE: TM) and Nissan. General Motors (NYSE: GM) is stomping on the gas, and gaining fast.

Yesterday, the Duke of Detroit announced it's upping production on its Volt electric car to 60,000 units annually. Fed up with playing second fiddle to Prius, GM will take full advantage of the government's $7,500 tax credit for electric cars and grab as much U.S. market share as it can before Ford (NYSE: F) gets its electric Focus on the road, or Prius can offer a plug-in. By upping Volt production to 60,000 units, GM immediately vaults into first place for e-car capacity, leapfrogging Nissan (which says it's planning to build 50,000 Leafs per year.)

And GM's picked a great time to grab the pole position in this race. Right now, Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) is taking a pit stop on production of the Roadster, while it tries to get its new Model S sedan road-ready. Ford's Focus is still in the shop, while Nissan's Leaf has yet to reach full-flutter. Meanwhile, General Electric (NYSE: GE) has committed to spending a cool $1 billion on electric cars over the next few years -- and GM is ready to meet that demand.

The road ahead looks clear for GM to grab the lead. Time to stomp on the gas ... then hit cruise control.

Will General Motors wind up in the winners circle, or end up in a ditch? Add it to your Fool watchlist, and find out.