Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Toyota plans limited sales of fuel-cell vehicles by 2015


Toyota Motor Corp. is planning to begin limited sales of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to consumers by 2015.

“Limited commercialization begins in 2015 and maybe sooner,” spokesman John Hanson said in an interview today, citing comments by Executive Vice President Masatami Takimoto at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The exact timing, sales volume and price haven’t been decided, Hanson said.


In June 2008, Toyota formally introduced a new, advanced version of its Highlander-based fuel cell hybrid vehicle (FCHV) equipped with a newly designed higher-performance Toyota fuel cell stack.

Th
e FCHV-adv provides a 25% improvement in fuel efficiency through improved fuel cell unit performance, enhancements to the regenerative braking system, and a reduction in energy consumed by the auxiliary systems. Equipped with TMC-developed 70 Mpa (10,000 psi) high-pressure hydrogen tanks, the FCHV-adv has a range of approximately 830 km (516 miles) based on the Japanese 10-15 cycle on a single fueling—more than double that of the older FCHV.


Toy
ota began leasing the FCHV-adv to Japan’s Ministry of the Environment on 1 September 2008.


Ho
nda Motor Co. last year began leasing FCX Clarity fuel-cell vehicles to Los Angeles-area customers and plans mass-market sales by about 2018. According to the Honda sales report, the company last year leased 5 FCX Clarity vehicles in the US, with one of those in December.


GM
has 100 Equinox fuel-cell SUVs on loan to US consumers and businesses in its Project Driveway.


Source:
Green Car Congress

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