DETROIT – Toyota Motor Corp said it expects U.S. sales of at least 16,000 plug-in Prius hatchbacks in 2012 after the model debuts early in the year.

The new version of the world?s best-selling hybrid, designed to be recharged at a standard 110-volt outlet, will go at least 13 miles solely on its lithium-ion battery pack, John Hanson, a Toyota spokesman, said in an interview with TheCarConnection.Com. After that, it will operate like a standard Prius, averaging 50 miles per gallon of gasoline in city and highway driving, he said.

?We think it?s going to be a strong seller and we?ll deliver to whatever level the market wants,? he said yesterday. ?We?re certainly on line to sell 16,000 to 17,000 in 2012.?

Toyota has dominated sales of alternative-power vehicles since it brought the Prius to the U.S. in 2000, selling 140,928 of the hybrids last year. The new version from the Toyota City, Japan-based company joins a market for rechargeable autos led this year by Nissan Motor Co.?s electric Leaf and General Motors Co. (GM)?s plug-in Volt.

The Leaf and Volt offer greater all-electric range, with as much as 100 miles for the Yokohama, Japan-based Nissan?s model and about 35 miles for the GM car. The Prius plug-in will have a pricing edge. Hanson said the new version will begin U.S. sales ?very early? next year, without elaborating.

Toyota?s target is ?reasonable, but the issue will be availability,? said Alan Baum, principal of automotive consulting firm Baum & Associates in West Bloomfield, Michigan. The Japan-built plug-in will also be in demand in Toyota?s home market and Europe, so U.S. supplies may be tight, he said.

Federal, State Incentives

Toyota expects the plug-in Prius to sell for $3,000 to $5,000 more than a standard version, which starts at $23,520, said Jana Hartline, a company spokeswoman.

The car should qualify for a federal tax credit of at least $2,500, Hartline said. While Toyota hasn?t begun a promotional campaign for the plug-in, 29,000 potential customers have ?pre- registered? to buy one on the company?s website, she said.

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