The
car, which will be a mid-sized saloon comparable to the currentAvensis, will
closely reference the Toyota FCV concept shown at the Geneva motor
show last month.
Toyota
says it will use a high-density fuel stack and will have the potential to cover
500 miles on a single tank of fuel.
European
president, Didier Leroy said he recognised fuel cell technology will take time
to be adopted. “To help that happen we will bring a reasonable number of cars
to Europe. The volume will be limited, but they will be visible on the
streets,” he said.
The
firm is working with BMW to accelerate its fuel cell research and development.
Karl Schlicht, Toyota Europe’s second in command said the firm would pioneer
the technology and points to Toyota’s role in the widespread adoption of hybrid
drivetrains. He said: “There is of course a long way to go, as with any
game-changing technology, but remember the same was said about hybrid only 10
years ago.
“Toyota
is ready to back and lead this change, so we will be pioneering fuel cell step
by step.”
He
also said that hydrogen fuel is easy to store, better at capturing renewable
energies than batteries and can be produced anywhere. “Taking these facts into
account reinforces how Toyota is convinced fuel cell can deliver our ultimate
goal of zero emissions and sustainable transport,” he said.
Toyota has revealed the
final design for its new Fuel Cell Sedan. It's a 'Ronseal',
does-what-it-says-on-the-tin choice of name for the car: it is, indeed,
Toyota's hydrogen fuel-cell-powered saloon - and this one is coming to a
showroom near you sooner than you think.
The H2 car may blend
concept car cues with Japanese global design blandness, but the Fuel Cell Sedan
is significant as much for the numbers involved as the futuristic look.
Toyota today confirmed
this car will be launched by April 2015 in Japan, and in summer 2015 in Europe
and the US. That's next summer. A full, hyrdogen-powered production car.
Toyota Fuel Cell Sedan:
the lowdown
The company announced
indicative domestic pricing of around seven million yen; call it around £40,450
at today's exchange rates. That's the likely Japanese price - the cost in
Europe and North America will be confirmed at a later date.
The Fuel Cell Sedan was
first shown as a concept car at the 2013 Tokyo motor show and today's
announcement is further proof, were it needed, of Toyota's ambition to launch a
commercially viable fuel-cell product at scale before its rivals.
We may scoff at the dire
provision of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure today, but it's hard not to
recall Toyota's bold commitment to hybrid cars back in the 1990s - and look
where that trend has gone today.
It's telling that Toyota
will initially launch the Fuel Cell Sedan only in areas of Japan which support
H2 refuelling. Today, there's only a single public hydrogen refuelling centre
in the UK near London's Heathrow airport. And that's not much good if you live
in Aberdeen or Exeter.
Toyota's environmental
mission
One line stands out in today's
announcement. 'Toyota’s commitment to developing vehicles that are kinder to
the environment is based on three principles: embracing diverse energy sources;
securing low vehicle emissions; and driving positive environmental change by
making these vehicles popular with customers.' There, in a nutshell, is the
mission statement for Toyota's disparate green technologies.
The Fuel Cell Sedan uses a
Toyota hydrogen stack, developed in the real world through a Japan and US trial
of the FCHV crossover since 2002.
Refuelling now takes three
minutes, says Toyota, and it claims performance and driving characteristics
comparable to a petrol-engined saloon of the same size.
Karl Schlicht, executive
vice president of Toyota Motor Europe, said: 'There are many challenges ahead,
such as the availability of fuelling infrastructure and customer awareness. But
our history with hybrid gives us all the experience we need to bring a new
technology to the market.
'In Europe we will be
taking it step by step, gradually introducing the car in selected markets. But
we are confident that hydrogen will become increasingly popular as a way of
powering vehicles.'
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