First five Toyota Mirai fuel cell vehicles arrive in Europe

Toyota is giving the Mirai the next step in the model's global expansion by delivering the initial production examples of the fuel cell sedan to Europe. The first actual owners should receive them in September, but sales are currently limited to regions of the UK, Germany, and Denmark with hydrogen refueling stations. These five, early cars rolled off the tanker ship in Bristol, England, and Zeebrugge, Belgium, on August 8 and 10 respectively.

Whereas Toyota is aiming to sell 3,000 of the fuel cell sedans in the US by the end of 2017, the Japanese automaker is keeping forecasts significantly more conservative for Europe. Specifically, the company expects to move just 50-100 Mirais annually in 2015 and 2016. Things could broaden significantly in 2017 when an expanded hydrogen-refueling infrastructure could allow offering the model in more countries there.

Prices for the Mirai in Germany start at 66,000 euros ($73,860 US at current rates), plus the country's value-added tax. In comparison, when deliveries begin in the US at eight California dealers, the fuel cell model carries a price of $57,500 or a three-year lease for $499 a month and $3,649 due at signing. Show full PR text The future lands in Europe

Europe welcomes the new Toyota Mirai, the world's first mass produced fuel cell sedan.
The first production Toyota Mirai vehicles have officially reached Europe this weekend, in Bristol, UK and Zeebrugge, Belgium.
Toyota keeps bringing innovation in mobility: 15 years separate the arrival of the first-generation Prius in 2000, and the arrival of Mirai in 2015.

Zeebrugge, Belgium - It was the summer of 2000. The world had comfortably survived the Millennium Bug, Kylie Minogue's "Spinning Around" was on top of the music charts in the UK, and Google had just released the first 10 language versions of Google.com in French, German, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Norwegian and Danish. In Rotterdam, the very first production Toyota Prius hybrid to be sold in Europe reached the continent.

Prius means "to go before" - a precursor to a new era of electrified mobility. Today, the first production Toyota Mirai - meaning "the future" in Japanese - destined for the European market has arrived, and, like its elder, it is here to pioneer the next step in clean mobility, using hydrogen as fuel and emitting nothing but water vapour.

The first five Mirai cars were unloaded in Bristol, UK and Zeebrugge, Belgium, respectively on 8 and 10 August.

"This marks the debut of a new age for clean mobility -- a turning point in the history of automobiles. With Mirai, Toyota is working on bringing clean, safe and enjoyable mobility for the next 100 years, thanks to fuel cell technology. We are looking forward to the start of delivery of the first Mirai to customers from September and to see the future taking shape on European roads. As with Prius 15 years ago, we are proud to bring yet another groundbreaking innovation to Europe with Mirai", said Mr Karl Schlicht, Executive Vice-President Toyota Motor Europe.

The Toyota Mirai is the world's first mass-produced fuel cell sedan. After its first public display in Europe in March at the Geneva Motor Show, today marks its debut on European ground. Already sold in Japan since last December, the Toyota Mirai will be launched in Europe from September in the UK, Denmark and Germany1.

With Mirai, Toyota is at the forefront of the fuel cell development thanks to our advanced engineering capabilities and our deep knowledge and experience of Hybrid technology. Mirai will allow us to grow awareness, knowledge and acceptance of the fuel cell technology and to promote the development of the required hydrogen infrastructure. It will also help us understand customer experience with the new technology, with trailblazers who want to drive the hydrogen movement forward

Mirai uses the pioneering Toyota Fuel Cell System (TFCS), which features both fuel cell technology and hybrid technology, and includes Toyota's new proprietary fuel cell stack and high-pressure hydrogen tanks.

Using hydrogen as fuel to generate electricity, Mirai achieves superior environment performance with no CO2 emissions or pollutants when driving, and the same level of convenience and autonomy as gasoline engine vehicles, with a generous cruising range and a hydrogen refuelling time of about three to five minutes.

Sales outline Europe

Launch : September 2015
Markets : UK, D, DK for 2015, more markets to be added from 2017 as the hydrogen infrastructure develops
Annual volume : 50-100 cars/year in 2015 and 2016
Price : 66,000€ + VAT (Germany)

Note : 1 Sales will begin in regions where hydrogen stations are in place, starting with Germany, UK and Denmark. Featured GalleryToyota Mirai in Europe
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