Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe announced that the start of fleet testing for plug-in capable Priuses has been moved up by a year, AutoblogGreen reports. Originally, Watanabe had announced that several hundred Priuses with plug-in capability would be delivered to government and commercial fleets in 2010 for field testing, but now he's pegging the testing to begin in early 2009.

Meanwhile, Toyota communications VP Irv Miller said on the company's blog that no timetable has been set for retail sales of these cars, and that it won't happen until Toyota is confident the lithium ion batteries are safe and reliable. "He also calls out a Palo Alto, CA Toyota dealer for beginning to take deposits on the cars," the report said—a smart move, since no one, including Toyota, has an official release date for these things.