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.

AFS Trinity loves to boast about its Saturn Vue-based Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle. Since AFS Trinity launched last year it’s been making a lot of noise about this hybrid with claims of it being capable of 150mpg.

AFS Trinity applied for some of the Department of Energy’s $2.5 billion in loans back in January to put towards opening an auto plant that had been closed.

Now, more recently, AFS took their show on the road and showed off their Saturn Vue-based Plug-in Hybrid along with its 16 kWh lithium-ion battery packs and ultracapictorrs.

Accroding to the NY Times, AFS is seeking $40 million from the DOE – a sufficient sum for building 100 cars. From there they hope to springboard into a $200 million production of 1,000 more plug-in hybrids. The final stage of their plan sees a $1.3 billion investment into retooling an old GM plant to build hundreds of thousands more. If everything goes according to plan they expect to sell the Saturn Vue hybrids for just $8,000 more than the gas-powered version.