A Japanese newspaper reports that Toyota will be producing between 20000 and 30000 units of plug-in hybrids come 2012. This will be two years after GM kicks off the production of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt.

A plug-in hybrid that was derived from the platform of the current Prius hybrid is expected to go to dealerships in Japan this month. This car will have a tag price starting at $47,800. The car will be able to travel for about 18.6 miles running on electric power alone. It depends on a pack of lithium ion batteries made by Panasonic EV Energy.

Toyota does not want to confirm any latest development with the plug-in hybrid cars they are producing.

A previous report verified that Toyota is fast tracking its global trials of about 500 units of plug-in hybrids by end of 2009. These cars will be ready for commercial and government fleets. Japan will keep about 200 vehicles for testing while 150 will go to Europe and the other 150 for the U.S. market.

The plug-in hybrid variant of the Prius returned a 30% improvement in terms of fuel mileage compared to the 2010 Prius which is already considered as the most fuel efficient in the U.S.

The company estimates that they will need about $1 billion to follow all the new industry rules from the federal government and California.

California requires manufacturers that sell more than 60000 vehicles in a year to have 3% of the units as zero emissions. This puts automakers like Toyota, Ford, and Honda in a no choice position because of the state legislation.

Chrysler and General Motors will also have to follow the new rules but do not require as much budget considering that the other car makers share the bigger chunk of the market.

The needed $1 billion of funding can be broken down into production of components needed for building the electric vehicles, equipment, and service centers. They also have to consider things like training of the manpower, marketing, and coverage for the vehicle’s guarantees and warranties.

Bloomberg reports that based on the current sales figures of Toyota, 3% of it or around 15000 units should be zero-emission. In case the car manufacturer fails to meet the state requirement, California can ban Toyota from selling their products.

The car manufacturers are currently studying the most effective steps to meet the regulations. The hard part is convincing the public to purchase the electric vehicles that they will be pushing for.