Around 230 cars will go to Japan, with 200 heading to Europe and around 150 to the States. Toyota said that it is also considering to lease some cars in countries in other regions, such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Based on the third-generation Prius Hybrid, the Plug-in trial version replaces the standard model's nickel-metal hydride battery pack with a compact high-output lithium-ion battery that can be fully recharged from a 230V power supply in 1.5 hours.
Aside from reducing CO2 emission to less than 60g/km and further improving the car's fuel economy, Toyota says that due to the battery's larger capacity, the vehicle has an extended electric-vehicle driving range covering around 20km or 12.5 miles in pure electric mode, which is about 10km or six miles more than the 'conventional' Prius hybrid.
Over longer distances, the Prius Plug-in Hybrid switches to conventional petrol-electric full hybrid operation.
Another advantage of the system is that the plug-in Prius can achieve speeds of up to a maximum 100km/h (62mph) in full-electric mode.
The Japanese automaker plans to use data generated during the use of the test cars to help develop a retail plug-in hybrid model within the next two years.
The official European CO2 emissions and fuel economy numbers for the new Prius Plug-in Hybrid are in. According to Toyota, with the use of the battery, the plug-in hybrid model will be able to travel 134.5 miles on one imperial gallon of petrol (equal...
It's finally here – Toyota's new standalone hybrid hatchback model that will be sold as the Aqua in Japan and as the Prius c in the rest of the world. With the Prius C, Toyota expands its lineup of Prius-badged hybrid models that already...
Toyota has released the full rundown on the pricing of the upcoming 2012 Prius Plug-in Hybrid and the five-passenger Prius V minivan. The first-ever Prius Plug-in Hybrid, which combines the firm’s Hybrid Synergy Drive with a small lithium-ion...
Ahead of its world debut on September 15 at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, Toyota today released the first official photograph of the new Prius Plug-in Hybrid Concept. While Toyota did not disclose any specific information on the car, the Japanese automaker...
In cooperation with EDF Energy which is one of the UK’s largest energy companies, Toyota has started UK trial runs of its prototype Prius plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV). EDF Energy has helped to install the first of 40 charging posts in the UK, with...