Toyota FCV Concept Previews Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car To Go On Sale in 2015

TTAC Staff
by TTAC Staff

At Toyota’s recent Hybrid World Tour event, managing office Satoshi Ogiso made it clear that the company continues to see hydrogen fuel cells as part of the future drivetrain mix and that Toyota’s first commercially available hydrogen fuel cell vehicle will go on sale in 2015. Ogiso indicated that at the upcoming Tokyo and Detroit auto shows Toyota will be showing “a well-defined mid-size four-door sedan concept” powered by the company’s latest fuel cell. Images of the Toyota FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle) Concept have now been released in advance of the Tokyo show. “Well-defined” appears to mean close to production ready.

The four seater, said to cost up to $100,000 when it does arrive in production form, will likely have a 300 mile range. The FCV Concept has two 70 MPa high pressure tanks for storing hydrogen located below the body which feed a small, lightweight fuel cell stack, a proprietary Toyota design. The “Toyota FC Stack” has a power output density of 3 kilowatts per liter, more than twice the power density of Toyota’s current “Toyota FCHV-adv” fuel cell stack. The system also includes a “high efficiency boost converter”. The result is higher voltage, allowing the use of fewer cells in the stack and smaller electric motors. That means reduced costs but also reduced weight, a critical factor in electrically powered vehicles.

TTAC Staff
TTAC Staff

More by TTAC Staff

Comments
Join the conversation
20 of 40 comments
  • Fred Fred on Nov 05, 2013

    I'm wondering if this could be a predictor of the next Camry shape.

    • Kyree Kyree on Nov 05, 2013

      Goodness, I hope not. I wouldn't say that the current Camry is a bad-looking car---although they could sure do something about that gap between the leading edge of the hood and the bumper---and making the Camry look like this concept sure wouldn't give Toyota ammo against competitors...

  • Kyree Kyree on Nov 05, 2013

    Why does it seem like, particularly with Asian manufacturers, concept cars are getting uglier and uglier? I thought concept cars wee supposed to be objects you'd drool over...

    • Redav Redav on Nov 05, 2013

      Ugly concept cars aren't limited to the Asians. I certainly don't drool over many I see (unless they are so ghastly I run/stumble away in horror and hit my head, and drool into a puddle under my unconcious body.)

  • APaGttH APaGttH on Nov 05, 2013

    The timing of events is too coincidental. Toyota cuts deal with Tesla. Tesla S is actually a huge success, they got almost everything right. Toyota can't give away the RAV4s built with the Tesla system. Toyota had said as far back as 2007 that electric cars were a non-starter, they were going to leapfrog full electric and go straight to fuel cell while refining their hybrids. Last week Elon Musk basically says fuel cells are a big ball of bullshit. Toyota officially announces their fuel cell hydrogen car for 2015 for public consumption - following their innovation timeline established in the last decade (now we know where the R&D money is going) I think the relationship between Tesla and Toyota is turning sour - fast. No winners or losers here, nor implying anything about the viability of fuel cells, Tesla. Toyota or otherwise, Just when you connect the dots, a bigger picture of discourse comes into view. If Toyota is right, Tesla has bet on a dead end. If Tesla is right (H2 is only good as a rocket fuel) there are going to be BBQ fuel cell cars. Or they both could be wrong, and the two happily coexist,

  • APaGttH APaGttH on Nov 05, 2013

    The timing of events is too coincidental. Toyota cuts deal with Tesla. Tesla S is actually a huge success, they got almost everything right. Toyota can’t give away the RAV4s built with the Tesla system. Toyota had said as far back as 2007 that electric cars were a non-starter, they were going to leapfrog full electric and go straight to fuel cell while refining their hybrids. Last week Elon Musk basically says fuel cells are a big ball of bull hockey. Toyota officially announces their fuel cell hydrogen car for 2015 for public consumption – following their innovation timeline established in the last decade (now we know where the R&D money is going) I think the relationship between Tesla and Toyota is turning sour – fast. No winners or losers here, nor implying anything about the viability of fuel cells, Tesla. Toyota or otherwise, Just when you connect the dots, a bigger picture of discourse comes into view. If Toyota is right, Tesla has bet on a dead end. If Tesla is right (H2 is only good as a rocket fuel) there are going to be BBQ fuel cell cars. Or they both could be wrong, and the two happily coexist,

    • See 13 previous
    • Kyree Kyree on Nov 05, 2013

      @Pch101 Right...but that's a straight-up EV. What I want to know is whether Tesla technology can make the Prius (hybrid) family more efficient than it already is...

Next