Toyota plans to begin pumping Prius hybrids out of its now-idle Mississippi plant as early as June 2011, the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper is reporting, along with Reuters. This could put the Mississippi plant online in time for the first new member of the Prius family (the FT-CH perhaps?).

Looks like the Japanese newspaper Nikkei nailed it in the middle of last month when they said that Toyota's US-based Prius factory would go online in 2011. According to the Detroit Free Press, a senior Toyota executive said last night that the currently built, but idle, factory will begin producing the Prius hybrid "when the recovery hits full stride".

Just 6 months ago news outlets were reporting that the stalled Mississippi plant would no longer build the Prius. What a difference a few months make. Now the Japanese newspaper the Nikkei is reporting that not only will Toyota finish the plant, but that the first American-made Prius should roll off the line by 2011.

Toyota has created a new plant species designed to offset the CO2 created by its Prius assembly operations.
Toyota has created two flower species that absorb nitrogen oxides and take heat out of the atmosphere.
The flowers, derivatives of the cherry sage plant and the gardenia, were specially developed for the grounds of Toyota’s Prius plant in Toyota City, Japan.

Motortrend, via Automotive News, reported yesterday that Toyota is mulling moving future US production of the Prius from the currently built, but empty, Tupelo, Mississippi plant.  Here is MT's take:

Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported today that Toyota plans to resume overtime at its Aichi plant next month in order to help meet strong demand for the new 2010 Prius.  Toyota has received orders for more than 110,000 vehicles and plans to raise monthly output of the model by 20 percent from the original schedule to about 50,000 cars, NHK said.