An insider from Toyota revealed plans for three new-to-market green vehicles to be introduced in the first half of 2012. It seems that Toyota plans to introduce three "new-to-market" green vehicles in 2012, with the cars using different eco pathways. A battery electric vehicle, a plug-in version of the Prius and an as-yet-unveiled variant of the Prius will arrive in U.S. dealerships in the first half of 2012.

This second Prius vehicle marks the beginning of the creation of a family of vehicles that will carry the Prius badge but will not be a separate brand.

The aforementioned version of the Prius could be a minivan. The vehicle could use three rows of seats and will be able to accommodate up to seven passengers. The car is said to use lithium-ion battery technology, along with optimized aerodynamics and low overall weight.

The battery electric vehicle could be an electric version of the Toyota iQ, which was revealed at the 2009 Detroit auto show. The car uses lithium-ion batteries that offer it a maximum driving range of 55 miles (90 km) and a top speed of 60 mph (100 km/h). Toyota is believed to only offer the electric vehicle in markets that have sufficient infrastructure to support the vehicle.

Toyota will also promote its new electric vehicles using an innovative marketing campaign that will underline the vehicles' eco-friendliness.

The automaker is already testing vehicles with battery packs sourced from new partner Tesla. Toyota is also collaborating with Tesla for the development of electric versions for the Toyota RAV4 and Lexus RX.