Toyota announced today that it will lease over 150 units of its next-generation plug-in hybrid vehicle to a selected few customers across Europe, continuing its three-year program. Toyota said that is preparing to deploy over 500 new generation PHVs in Europe, Japan and the U.S. by 2010.

The new PHVs, which are based on the Toyota Prius, carry a lithium-ion battery pack that extends the vehicle range for zero-emissions driving.

Last we heard anything on the technical specs, Toyota was achieving 12 miles on electric power alone with its lithium-ion battery pack, which is developed by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.

Toyota PHEV Plug-in Prius:

- By: Kap Shah