With all the recent PHEV talk surrounding Toyota lately, one might think that they forgot all about their future commitment to electric vehicles (EVs). No so, according to information released by Toyota today. Toyota plans on releasing a small, urban commuter lithium-ion battery electric vehicle (BEV) to market in model year 2012. Most likely the EV will be released in 2011.

Here's some more information from Toyota. Video (B-Roll) below that.

Toyota Motor Corp plans to start mass producing plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012, with a projected first-year output of about 20,000 to 30,000 units, the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday.

No word on how many will reach the U.S., or when sales will start here. Toyota has said the vehicle will be powered by lithium-ion batteries developed and produced by its joint venture with Panasonic. The cars would be able to run up to 18 miles on battery power alone before a backup gas powerplant kicked in.