Following its Frankfurt Motor Show debut, Toyota officially launched its Prius Plug-In Hybrid program earlier on Monday in Japan. Scheduled to run for the next six-months, Toyota will test 600 examples of its Prius Plug-In Hybrid in Japan, the United States and Europe.
Of those 600 test units, 230 will be used by government agencies and utilities in Japan. Another 200 units will be split between France, the United Kingdom and Portugal, with 150 units destined for the United States. Toyota has yet to select a home for the remaining 20 Prius Plug-In Hybrid test vehicles, but is considering Canada, Australia, New Zealand and 10 other European countries.
Using Toyota ’s lithium-ion battery technology, the Prius Plug-In Hybrid is said to be capable of traveling about 14 miles on electric power. Once the car’s batteries are depleted it reverts back to standard hybrid mode, resulting in a projected overall rating of 134mpg. Toyota says the Prius Plug-In Hybrid can hit up to 62mph in EV mode.
Toyota will evaluate the results of the program over the next several months, with the goal of having a retail version of the Prius Plug-In Hybrid in Toyota showrooms by late 2011.
