Toyota is going to postpone the launch of its third generation version of the king of hybrid car, Toyota Prius that originally planned for fall 2008, the release has been delayed to Spring 2009, according to Japanese industrial daily Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun.

Toyota and its battery partner, Matsushita are working on a lithium-ion battery that had been expected to power the next-generation Prius. Those plans reportedly were set back last month due to quality control and safety concerns.

The Toyota Prius has won numerous awards including Car of the Year awards in Europe, Japan and North America and it’s sales (about 186,000 units) accounted for more than half of Toyota’s total hybrid sales (313,000 units) in 2006.