Though Toyota has already announced it plans to begin limited production and consumer testing of plug-in hybrid vehicles beginning in the next few months, a new report indicates that the Japanese automaker will enter full-scale series production of plug-in hybrids as early as 2012.
Japan’s Nikkei reported on Saturday that Toyota plans to build up to 30,000 plug-in hybrids by 2012. That’s still two years behind the Chevrolet Volt, but Toyota will beat General Motors to the punch by offering limited fleet customers a $47,800 plug-in Prius in Japan later this summer. That model will also make its way to North America by the end of the year, even though Toyota itself is skeptical that the public will latch on to the technology.
The paper reports that the upcoming Prius plug-in hybrid offered to fleet users will be able to run for up to 18.6 miles on battery power alone before a gas engine kicks in.
07/06, 12:00 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
This should be fun. Families on a road trip who play ‘I spy with my little eye’ will soon be able to add ‘Prius with a yellow cord hanging off the back’ to their repertoire.
07/06, 12:01 PM
posted by:
Need more oil for GM
LOL look at Toyota trying to catch General Motors in the EV race! Too bad everyone knows Toyotas quality is pathetic and any chance of them bringing something like the Volt to market that doesn’t burn to the ground the moment it drives off the lot is laughable. Meanwhile, millions of happy Volt owners will turn 300 thousand miles with narry a problem.
Quality, refinement, reliability, dependibility. Only in GM vehicle. Nothing else comes close.
An American Revolution
07/06, 12:01 PM
posted by:
carstuff
$50k Prius? Wow. And that vehicle has most of the parts already being produced in a relatively high volume vehicle. Guess those Li-ion batteries are expensive.
And this will only go 18 miles on one charge so it looks to have half the battery capacity of the Volt.
I hear that gas prices will be going down and that the only way Obama will make this work is to put a nice sized gas tax on our gasoline. Of course he will never do that since that would be raising taxes on those making under $250K:)
07/06, 12:05 PM
posted by:
carstuff
Or was it $225K;)
07/06, 12:07 PM
posted by:
Bankruptcy2009
NFMOGM
I think you got that the other way around. Too bad everyone knows Toyotas quality is GREAT and any chance of GM bringing something like the Prius to market is like if Hell were to Freeze over! Meanwhile, NFMOGM hope it can make it 300 miles without breaking down is what NFMOGM Pea Sized Brain is hoping for at best for GM is thinking! lmao
Quality, refinement, reliability, dependibility. Only in Ford , Toyota, or Honda vehicle. Nothing else comes close.
A “True’ American Dynasty!
07/06, 12:13 PM
posted by:
Dante_JoseCuervo
Bankruptcy2009
- It’s funny to see Ford on that list, but they’ve come a long way! I think GM should take some hints from that
07/06, 12:14 PM
posted by:
moparsalesman1
lets put bankruptcy and nmogm in a cage and let them fight this out……you ready? you ready? lets get it on!!!!!
07/06, 12:15 PM
posted by:
Nightblack_97
Bankruptcy2009
Common man get up with the times!
Yes Ford’s are great cars starting with the last couple of model years.
Great turnaround
Honda is having all sorts of issues while still demanding premium prices. good luck getting a car without the three grand worth of dealer addons they smugly put on every car.
Toyota- Have you seen the new camry…. horrible tranny issues…. a god awful interior… and exterior paint that’s razor thin. My brother’s leased tundra is crap. Its the most plasticy car I’ve ever been in.
They are sell ing on brand image now.
Toyota is going the way of general motors!! History repeats itself
07/06, 12:27 PM
posted by:
reedfast
18.6 miles is pathetic toyota. If even Gm can beat your cars then it is time for a major revamp.
07/06, 12:40 PM
posted by:
mayer_ray_nagin
Obama’s lowered the “no new taxes” threshold to $2.25 per year now.
That’s two point two five dollars.
And that’s only if you don’t use energy.
07/06, 12:51 PM
posted by:
orangecones
Keep this in perspective guys. The Toyota if you will is “last year’s EV”, thus the pathetic 18 miles of pure electric until the gas kicks in. And keep in mind that at that point it simply operates like a regular $20 priius hybrid (2nd gen). The Volt is a “next gen hybrid” using some technologies that weren’t yet available for mass production when the 2nd gen Prius was being converted to a plug-in…. for example the size / weight / capacity of batteries could be an issue. That said, if the Volt takes off, expect a 100 mile plug-in a few years after that.
07/06, 1:33 PM
posted by:
sj79
this thing sounds sweet. More money and less range than the Volt. Winning combination. Toyota invests in this plug in tech all while telling everyone that they arent viable in the short term.
07/06, 5:05 PM
posted by:
twobolt
Toyota isn’t PLANNING on doing this, they already are.
I got a couple of pictures of a Toyota plug-in Prius (gen 2) just like the one above, on a side street in Paris in June of last year (2008). It had the same flowing stick-on decals. They became a power plug design on the passenger side door and inside the power plug it said “Toyota Plug-In Hybrid”. The word Toyota was in Red and Plug in Hybrid in blue.
This isn’t “new”. And Toyota isn’t two years behind anyone in the electric car ballgame.
07/06, 5:09 PM
posted by:
2WheeledSpeed
50 flipping thousand dollars for 18 miles?
I rode my bike 40 miles round trip to school today…
I predict the yuppie retards in my area will buy these things in DROVES and brag about how “green” they are and how much money they’re saving on gas.
While they pay hundreds upon hundreds of dollars a month for YEARS to pay off their new Toyota, and I paid cash for my bike…
07/06, 6:17 PM
posted by:
howsmydriving
I wouldn’t underestimate Toyota.