Toyota to Push Out Fuel Cell Vehicles by End of 2014 - Unhaggle

Posted by | June 09, 2014 | Ownership | No Comments

Toyota to Push Out Fuel Cell Vehicles by End of 2014

Toyota is pulling all stops to release their new hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCV) ahead of schedule. Their plan is to have the cars enter production by mid-December, so that they could make an appearance in showrooms by the end of 2014, says a report from The Japan Times. Toyota’s first FCV Concept has debuted during the Tokyo Motor Show in November last year to mixed reception. Toyota has defended the car by stating that the Prius hasn’t been well-received at first either.

The company’s original plan was to release its hydrogen vehicles in 2015, but since its rivals Honda and Hyundai are also pushing out their own versions as quickly as possible, the more accelerated approach probably makes more sense. Hyundai began pushing out its hydrogen-fueled Tucson crossovers at the end of last month in California, which means that Toyota is already somewhat behind the competition.

Like plug-in hybrid cars, these vehicles are supposed to be more environmentally-friendly than regular gasoline-powered cars. They run on an electric motor that uses hydrogen energy to produce zero emissions. One the advantages these cars have over its plug-in cousins is the fact that it takes almost the same amount of time to refuel as a traditional gasoline-powered car. To put things into perspective here – it takes a Tesla Supercharger Station about 20 minutes to refuel a plug-in for a 250-km trip, while a hydrogen-run car takes about five minutes.

That being said, experts have pointed out several downsides that exist as well. For example, public refueling costs between $500K and $1M per station, while home refueling so far is only a concept. On top of that, each pump at a hydrogen station needs time to “recharge” before being used again, even though the actual process is the same as fueling a regular car.

So, given a few notable criticisms, it’s unclear what the future of hydrogen fuel cell cars is going to be, but one thing is clear – they are going to be here sooner than later. What are your thoughts on hydrogen fuel cell cars? Please let us know in the comments below.

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