Even though Toyota scheduled the release of its new Prius for 2010, a few photos of the new vehicle found their way on the Web earlier this week.

The design hasn’t been changed much, with the new model sticking closely to the lines and proportions of the previous release. Still, there are several new features which give it a more aggressive look.

The rumors say that the new version will be 10 cm longer and 3 cm wider. The 1.8-l petrol engine will ensure greater power and even lower emissions, with a combined economy figure of about 70 mpg and CO2 emissions below 90g/km.

Considering that the new trend displayed by manufacturers to use lithium-ion batteries is not appropriate for its model, Toyota decided on continuing with the same hybrid battery pack. The plan is to wait a couple more years before switching to the technology, in order to make sure that it will prove to be safe and reliable.

Toyota was able to cut some of its vehicles’ costs by building its own batteries through a partnership with Panasonic. Panasonic’s EV Battery Corp. now deals with the manufacturing process and the two companies expect the batteries’ prices to drop even more over the next few years.

The company confirmed that the photos indeed present its next generation of vehicles, mentioning that the design of the headlights is not quite accurate. The official presentation will take place in January 2009 during the Detroit Auto Show and the company’s officials refused to provide any other details until that time.