The program is financially backed by the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME). 150 charging points will be set throughout the city, at users' homes, at the private parking of partner companies, in public parking lots and on public roads.
"Toyota's main objective is to further investigate the technology and performance of PHVs," Toyota says in a statement cited by just-auto.com.
"In the context of the EDF-Toyota partnership, European road trials of Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles started in France in the autumn of 2007 and were expanded to the UK in 2008."
Introduced at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show, the Prius PHEV is powered by a 1.8l 97 bhp regular engine, paired with a permanent magnet synchronous electric motor. The engine develops by itself 97 bhp, while the electric motor adds an extra 79 bhp.
The PHEV can travel some 12.5 miles (20km) in electric mode, six miles more than the our everyday Prius. The increased electric mileage can reduce harmful emissions to as little as 609g/km.
Toyota has no plans to produce the PHEV yet, but it has set up the testing program for it. As part of the program, the PHEV has also arrived in the US in early 2010. 150 units have been placed in regional clusters with select partners and start market/consumer analysis and technical demonstration.
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