The Nikkei Business Daily reported on Saturday that Toyota will start mass producing plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) in 2012.

The company's focusing on bringing the price of these PHEVs in at a comparable price to Mitsubishi's i-MiEV electric car - which hits the Japanese market this year with a $47,800 price tag (before subsidies). The i-MiEV has a top speed of 82 mph, with an all-electric range of 100 miles.

The Toyota PHEV is expected to deliver an all-electric range of between 12.4 and 18.6 miles, but since it's a PHEV, a gasoline engine can kick in if the vehicle goes beyond its all-electric range.

Toyota will be using lithium-ion batteries produced by its joint venture with Panasonic Corporation, and plans to pump out 20,000 to 30,000 PHEVs in its first year of output.

This news comes after data from the Japan Automobile Dealers Association showed sales of the Toyota Prius jumped 258 percent from last year. The Prius was also the best-selling car last month in Japan.

Jeff