Toyota: $50,000 fuel cell sedan on track to launch in 2015, or sooner

Third-gen Toyota FCHV-adv - Click above for high-res image gallery
Toyota is unquestionably known more for its successful hybrid vehicles than its hydrogen-powered cars, but that could change if the automaker comes through on its planned launch of a production-ready fuel cell sedan by 2015, or sooner, at a price of $50,000, or less. At the Detroit Auto Show, Toyota's executive vice president for research and product development, Takeshi Uchiyamada, reiterated the automaker's fuel cell plans, telling Bloomberg that Toyota has: High expectations for fuel-cell vehicles as a candidate for next-generation cars. Over the past several years, we've seen many of the outstanding technical issues solved. Furthermore, Uchiyamada revealed that Toyota has slashed its cost for producing a hydrogen car to less than $100,000 and remains confident that it can halve that amount by 2015. Toyota plans to launch its fuel cell sedan in California, Japan and Germany in five year's time or less.

In related news, Toyota, along with 12 other Japanese companies including Honda, Nissan and JX Nippon, announced plans to install at least 100 hydrogen refueling stations in the Asian nation by the end of 2015. Hat tip to Roy!


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Photos by Sebastian Blanco / Copyright ©2010 AOL

[Source: Bloomberg]
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