<p>The plug-in Prius is the first from Toyota Motor Corp packed with a more powerful battery called lithium-ion that's different from the batteries used in Prius hybrids on roads today. A plug-in is even friendlier to the environment than the regular Prius because it travels longer as an electric vehicle.<br /><br />Toyota leads rivals in hybrids, especially in Japan, where government incentives have made the Prius a top-seller for months.<br />About 600 of the vehicles will be introduced in Japan, the US and Europe -- 230 in Japan, 150 in the US and 200 in Europe -- over the first half of 2010 starting this month, the company said. The customers are businesses and governments. One hundred are going to the city of Strasbourg, France.<br /><br />Toyota's plug-in travels 23.4 kilometres as an electric vehicle on a single charge, and gets 57 kilometres a litre in mileage, the equivalent of about 135 miles a gallon. Toyota did not provide a miles-per-gallon figure for US road-test conditions.<br />When the charge runs out, a plug-in starts running like a regular hybrid, ensuring drivers won't run out of power on the road.</p>
<p>The plug-in Prius is the first from Toyota Motor Corp packed with a more powerful battery called lithium-ion that's different from the batteries used in Prius hybrids on roads today. A plug-in is even friendlier to the environment than the regular Prius because it travels longer as an electric vehicle.<br /><br />Toyota leads rivals in hybrids, especially in Japan, where government incentives have made the Prius a top-seller for months.<br />About 600 of the vehicles will be introduced in Japan, the US and Europe -- 230 in Japan, 150 in the US and 200 in Europe -- over the first half of 2010 starting this month, the company said. The customers are businesses and governments. One hundred are going to the city of Strasbourg, France.<br /><br />Toyota's plug-in travels 23.4 kilometres as an electric vehicle on a single charge, and gets 57 kilometres a litre in mileage, the equivalent of about 135 miles a gallon. Toyota did not provide a miles-per-gallon figure for US road-test conditions.<br />When the charge runs out, a plug-in starts running like a regular hybrid, ensuring drivers won't run out of power on the road.</p>