Toyota Prius Plug-in at Frankfurt show

The Toyota Prius Plug-in will make its public debut at the Frankfurt motor show next month, ahead of going on sale 12 months later.

The car differs from the standard Prius because it uses lithium-ion batteries to power the electric motor, instead of the nickel metal hydride battery pack in the current version. These batteries can be recharged by plugging into mains electricity.

This means it has a longer electric power-only range and, according to Toyota's figures, emits just 49g/km of carbon dioxide while averaging 128.4mpg. That's a significant improvement on the pre-production version we drove last year.

The car is expected to go on sale in September 2012, and although prices haven't been revealed it's expected to cost just around 25,000, including the 5000 Government grant.

Also due next year is the Prius+ a seven-seat hybrid MPV and a Yaris Hybrid, which is expected to go on sale in the summer.