Toyota Motor Corp.'s new plug-in Prius threatens to cast a shadow over competitors' hybrids.

A successful debut of the Prius PHV, which Toyota will begin selling in 2012, may help Toyota secure its place as the industry leader in gas-and-electric vehicles and undermine General Motors Co.'s prospects with its Chevrolet Volt.

Though the Volt, introduced a year ago, was the first plug-in hybrid on the market, its sales are trailing GM's target. The model has also been beset by a government investigation into battery fires after collision tests.

"Toyota carries the image of being a leader in hybrids and the recent problems with the Volt's batteries give consumers an extra reason to choose the plug-in Prius over the Volt," said Mitsushige Akino of Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. "Toyota's new plug-in Prius will definitely have a negative impact on GM's sales of the Volt."

Toyota, poised to lose its crown as the world's biggest carmaker to GM this year, said the PHV goes on sale in January in Japan and March in the U.S., where it will be about 20 percent cheaper than the Volt.

GM believes the Volt is a different kind of car than the Prius plug-in and will appeal to different buyers, said company spokesman Rob Peterson.

The Volt can go farther in electric drive than the Prius and offers much better efficiency for drivers with a short commute, he said. The Volt's electric drive system also provides the kind of soft, quiet ride befitting many luxury cars, he said.

"We think the Volt is a better proposition," Peterson said. "The Volt is much more refined than a Prius."

The auto industry as a whole is making a push into the plug-in market. Nissan Motor Co. plans to introduce a plug-in hybrid by 2015 to complement its gas-free electric Leaf compact. The automaker has sold about 20,000 Leaf compacts since they went on sale last December. Honda Motor Co. has said it will embrace the plug-in variation of hybrid engines by as early as next year.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp., which makes the i-MiEV electric car, has said it will introduce a plug-in in the second half of next year. Audi AG expects to introduce such vehicles in 2014 and South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. has said it also plans to roll out its own plug-in hybrid.

Toyota, however, may have the edge. "No other carmakers have a car like" the PHV, said Chris Richter, a Tokyo-based analyst at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets. "Toyota's plug-in has a much better efficiency and range than the Volt, which is much more expensive."

Toyota has targeted global sales of 60,000 units of the PHV in its first year, and may consider adding production if there's "ample demand," said Shiori Hashimoto, a spokeswoman for the company. That's triple the 19,010 units delivered when the Prius first went on sale outside of Japan in 2000.

GM sold 6,142 Volts this year through November and will miss its target of 10,000 this year, Don Johnson, the carmaker's vice president of U.S. sales, said last week.