Toyota confirms hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle plans

Posted on 13 Aug 2012 at 10:46, by Gareth Halfacree

Toyota has confirmed plans to compete with Honda's upcoming hydrogen fuel-cell powered FCX Clarity, stating that it will have a hydrogen-driven vehicle of its own on the market by 2015.

Speaking at the 2012 Centre for Automotive Research, Inside Line reports, Toyota USA's president and chief executive Jim Lentz confirmed that a hydrogen-powered consumer vehicle will be part of his company's product line-up by 2015, alongside hybrid, plug-in hybrid and full-electric options.

"Specifically, we're developing a lineup that includes a hydrogen fuel-cell sedan in 2015", Lentz reportedly told attendees at the centre's management briefing seminar. The hydrogen vehicle will come alongside "a wider variety of hybrid vehicles and plug-in hybrids, and a choice of pure electric vehicles."

Hydrogen promises to be the technology most likely to do away with the combustion engine. Offering the same performance as a traditional vehicle, a fuel-cell vehicle boasts a range some three times greater than a tank of fuel while retaining the environmental benefits of an electric vehicle and emitting only heat and water vapour as its by-products. Fuel-cell vehicles also boast a significantly faster 'refuelling' time compared to plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles, with Honda claiming the FCX Clarity can be refuelled from empty in just five minutes.

While Honda's FCX Clarity may be the world's first production hydrogen fuel-cell car, it's clear that Toyota isn't going to let its rival corner the market just yet.

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