Toyota launching hydrogen car by year-end

But new fuel-cell vehicles could carry steep price tag.

Click to enlarge picture
Toyota unveiled its FCV hydrogen concept vehicle at the Tokyo Motor Show last autumn.

The Detroit Bureau

Toyota will launch production of its first commercially available hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle before the end of the year, according to a report from Japan. That would appear to be months ahead of its original plans.
Toyota, which hasn't changed its stance of "2015 or sooner" for the release of the car, first revealed plans to get into the hydrogen car market last autumn, at the biennial Tokyo Motor Show. It has produced a number of prototypes in years past, but the Japanese giant has been suggesting that it might go the fuel-cell route as an alternative to depending on battery-electric vehicles to meet tough new Zero-Emission Vehicle, or ZEV standards.
The first Toyota battery cars would come in at around 8 million yen, according to the Japan Times, which would work out to a hefty $78,000, though the English-language publication noted that by the beginning of the next decade, Toyota would like to trim that to somewhere between 3 million to 5 million yen, or between $30,000 and $50,000 at current exchange rates.
Toyota has indicated it will introduce a modified version of its Tokyo concept vehicle in the U.S. — with sales concentrated in Southern California, where there is a small but growing network of hydrogen fueling stations. It is unclear whether it will reduce the price of the American fuel-cell vehicle in order to build demand — much as automakers have done to spur sales of battery-electric vehicles.
Read More

Written by Unknown

We are Creative Blogger Theme Wavers which provides user friendly, effective and easy to use themes. Each support has free and providing HD support screen casting.