Prius plug in

Toyota unveiled plans for a plug in hybrid Prius. This is a first for the industry. Toyota is testing the vehicle on public road.

It is called the Tyotya Plug-in HIV. Plug in cars are designed to enable short trips powered entirely by the electric motor. The batter is recharged via an electric socket at home.

Many environmental advocates see them as the best available technology to reduce gasoline consumption and global-warming greenhouse gas emissions, but engineers say battery technology is still insufficient to store enough energy for long-distance travel.

"It's difficult to say when plug-in hybrids could be commercialized, since it would depend largely on advances in battery technology," said Executive Vice President Masatami Takimoto, in charge of Toyota's powertrain technology, told a news conference.

The Toyota Plug-in HV, which is due to be tested also in the United States and Europe, has a cruising range of just 13 km (8 miles) on one charge, even with its trunkful of batteries.

GM in January showed a concept version of the plug-in Chevrolet Volt that would be powered by a lithium-ion battery. It has set 2010 as a target for production.

Ford this month partnered with No. 2 U.S. electric utility Southern California Edison for real-world testing of a fleet of up to 20 rechargeable vehicles to be based on the Escape Hybrid SUV. Ford has said plug-ins could enter showrooms in five to 10 years.

Toyota, which launched the world's first mass-volume gasoline-electric hybrid car, the Prius, in 1997, said it would test eight prototypes of the plug-in hybrid to gather data on real-life driving over the next three years after gaining government approval on Wednesday.

Many automakers including Toyota, Nissan Motor Co. (7201.T) and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (7211.T), are working with Japanese battery makers to develop next-generation lithium-ion batteries with improved capacity to store energy.