Toyota made waves “and lots of profit” when it unveiled the first production hybrid, the Prius. Now the Japanese automaker aims to make similar impact with its production hydrogen fuel cell vehicle that it plans to unveil at the Tokyo Auto Show this November.
The last several years have seen the cost of hydrogen fuel cell technology drop significantly. Inversely, the durability and reliability of the technology has grown exponentially with important technological breakthroughs. Accordingly, the Toyota hydrogen car will carry “a price comparable to a mid-size BMW or Tesla Model S,” according to a Bloomberg report.
Capable of a 482 KM range, the Toyota fuel cell vehicle will only emit water vapor from the tailpipe.
“We’re now in the ‘trough of disillusionment’ for fuel-cell vehicles,” said John German, program director with the International Council on Clean Transportation environmental policy group.
Other eco-friendly automakers aren’t as convinced by hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as Toyota seems to be, though. “Fuel cells should be renamed ‘fool cells,’ they are so stupid,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk in an interview last month.
While few details are presently known of the soon-to-come Toyota fuel cell car, more should leak out in the next few months so stay tuned.