Toyota continues to demonstrate its commitment to building fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly vehicles with the arrival of the hydrogen-powered zero-emissions Mirai sedan – Tesla’s potential new rival.
The name Mirai means “future” in Japanese, which is quite fitting for the technology that this car comes with. The Mirai can travel over 480 kilometres on a single tank of hydrogen. It also refuels in less than five minutes and only emits water vapor, according to Toyota.
The Japanese automaker has partnered with industrial gas supplier Air Liquide to build a network of stations across the northeastern United States, which was announced Monday. There are 12 stations planned for New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island. These specific locations have been selected “to provide the backbone of a hydrogen highway of the Northeast corridor.”
Toyota has also made a $7.3-million USD loan to FirstElement Fuels to support the operation of 19 fueling stations in California. Toyota president Akio Toyoda has noted that they are “at a turning point in automotive history.”
The Mirai joins the hybrid-pioneer Prius as yet another efficiency vehicle from Toyota. The Prius Plug-In can ride for 11 minutes on battery power alone, and when that runs out, the Plug-In uses 4.7 litres per 100 kilometres. The convenience of the Plug-In is that there are far more fueling stations than hydrogen stations. The Prius Plug-In also boasts a base MSRP of $35,755, while the Mirai starts at about $64,000. This price may be steep, but Toyota is offering buyers three years of free hydrogen with their purchase or lease.
The car officially launches tonight at the Los Angeles Auto Show, where more details about the Mirai will be released.
