"Toyota Reported Ready To Launch Plug-in Prius for Masses in 2011" Green Car Advisor

Toyota Reported Ready To Launch Plug-in Prius for Masses in 2011

Toyota has long kept quiet about when it would turn its plug-in hybrid Prius from test car to retail vehicle.

But the Nikkei business newspaper now reports that the answer is 2012.

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Plug-in Priuses already are being tested in Europe.
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That, said the Japanese paper, is when Toyota will begin series production (the auto industry term for production for mass market sales) of the plug-in Prius models it will begin leasing late this year to select fleet customers for real-world testing late this year.

Nikkei, according to a report by Reuters news service, said Toyota plans to build 20,000-30,000 plug-in Priuses a year and intends to price them at about $48,000 -- twice the price of a conventional Prius hybrid and about $8,000 more than the Chevrolet Volt, which will hit the market at the tail end of 2010.

Nikkei did not identify the source of its information about Toyota's plug-in plans and pricing and a Toyota spokesman told Reuters the company would not comment on future product plans.

As Toyota engineers and executives have said in the past, the plug-in Prius is expected to deliver about 12 miles on all-electric range using the lithium-ion battery pack produced for Toyota by Panasonic EV energy Co, a joint venture of Toyota and Panasonic.

We're not sure if Nikkei has its facts straight on this one. Although Toyota is widely expected to launch retail sales of the plug-in hybrids by 2011, the pricing seems a bit high -- at least for the U.S. market where a plug-in Prius would compete directly with the Chevrolet Volt, which promises 40 miles of all-electric range for around $40,000 before a $7,500 federal tax credit.

Additionally, a top Toyota executive in the U.S. has questioned whether a plug-in Prius would have much consumer appeal given its relatively short all-electric range, high price and the durability of the new lithium ion batteries.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor