According to a recent report by Japanese news agency, Nikkei, Toyota is planning to start producing around between 20,000 and 30,000 Plug-in versions of the Prius hybrid. The new electric plug-in version of the Prius Hybrid will cost around $48,000.

An interesting price point considering that the Chevy Volt is expected to start selling this year for $8,000 less than that. Plus, the standard Toyta Prius will be selling for less than half the cost of a plug-in Prius.

Toyota is expected to use lithium ion batteries with a 12-18 mile range although it hasn’t been revealed if that’s just on battery power alone or if the engine will need to run at all.

Test fleets of the plug-in Toyota Prius will start running this year. We’ll keep you informed on the results of those test.