Toyota Unveils Hydrogen Fuel Cell Sedan in Japan, Arrives in the U.S. Next Summer

Toyota has officially unveiled its new hydrogen fuel cell sedan in Japan. The fuel cell sedan was previewed last year as a concept and now Toyota is giving the world a first look at the production version, which is slated to go on sale next year.

The yet to be named fuel cell sedan doesn’t stray too far from the design of the concept that made its debut almost a year ago at the Tokyo Motor Show. Toyota
is still keeping most of the details under wraps, but we do expect the
fuel cell sedan to have a range of around 400 miles with a top speed
just over 100 mph. When the fuel cell sedan goes on sale in Japan in
April, 2015 it will be priced at 7 million yen, which converts to about
$70,000, although Toyota has yet to release the pricing for the U.S.
version. It will go on sale in the U.S. and Europe by the summer of
2015.

Related: Toyota Unveils 2015 Zero Emissions Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle at CES 2014

Toyota sees
hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as a more viable alternative to gas powered
vehicles than existing battery-electric vehicles. Toyota is also not
alone as Hyundai recently launched its Tucson fuel cell vehicle and later this year we are expecting a new fuel cell vehicle from Honda.
Although fuel cell vehicles have a longer driving range and can be
refueled faster than electric vehicles, the biggest hurdle is the lack
of hydrogen re-fueling stations to keep them on the road. Currently in
the U.S. hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are largely restricted to Southern
California, where most of the stations exist.

+ Toyota