Toyota's Prius has remained the best-selling hybrid of all time even as competitors like Ford and GM step up the competition. But the Prius can't do it all--for anyone with a large family, it's just not big enough. Perhaps that's why Toyota is hatching a plan to produce a line of Prius vehicles, with either a wagon or SUV first in line for a mass rollout.
Few details have been released, but Toyota is reportedly thinking about installing a lithium-ion battery pack in the vehicle--a surprise considering that Toyota has repeatedly claimed that lithium-ion batteries aren't cheap or reliable enough for mass use. The new wagon/SUV will be bigger and heavier than the Prius sedan, and will likely have a larger power system (read: a larger battery pack).
Beyond those scraps of information, Toyota is staying mum. The new Prius could be a plug-in or a regular hybrid, and pricing is still up in the air--though Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper says that it will retail for about $22,000. But whenever Toyota decides to release the new, larger Prius, we can expect a rapid increase in the number of hybrid-owning soccer moms.
Toyota will provide 150 test versions of the plug-in Prius to European fleets, and the same number in the States. The first Prius Plug-Ins will be delivered by the end of the year, but Toyota hasn't said when retail customers will be able to get their hands on a factory-built plug-in Prius.
[Resources: Fast Company article : Rumor: Toyota Planning Prius Wagon and SUV]
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