Toyota Motor Corp. on Wednesday struck back at Honda, promising two new hybrid vehicles and the start of lithium-ion battery production next year, according to AutoWeek. One of the hybrids will be a Toyota, while the other will be a Lexus, and both will debut at the 2009 Detroit auto show—all of this confirms a report we first heard in February. Both cars will be in addition to the third-generation Prius that's also due next year.

Masatami Takimoto, executive vice president in charge of r&d, said the new Toyota will be larger than the next Prius. "It's a totally new car," Takimoto said in Tokyo, according to the report. Meanwhile, while the next Prius will soldier on for now with nickel-metal-hydride batteries, the long-awaited lithium-ion batteries will debut in the automaker's first plug-in hybrid, due in 2010.

The article said that Panasonic EV Energy Co., the joint venture that makes Toyota's hybrid vehicle batteries, will start making the lithium-ion batteries in 2009, Takimoto said—the initial run will be to test manufacturing consistency. Full mass production will begin in 2010. This report comes after Honda recently announced that they're also working on three new hybrids.