After teasing us with photos of the Prius plug-in hybrid and mumbling about leasing 500 to fleets later this year, Toyota will mass-produce the car and offer it for sale in 2012.
We're not talking about a few hundred, or even a few thousand, cars here but a full-scale run of 20,000 to 30,000 vehicles in the first year, according to the Japanese business daily Nikkei. The car, which will cost about $47,800 when leased to corporate and government fleets, will go 20 to 30 kilometers (12.4 to 18.6 miles) on electricity alone. It will use lithium-ion batteries produced through Toyota's joint venture with Panasonic.
Toyota had no comment on the report, according to Reuters.
The 2010 Prius was the best-selling car in Japan last month, with 22,292 units sold. It was the third consecutive month a hyrbrid topped the list, Reuters reports. The Honda Insight topped the list in April and the Prius led in May.
We've driven both cars. Check out our review of the Prius here and the Insight here.
Photo: Toyota
