Toyota president Akio Toyoda today revealed the company’s new £40,000 fuel-cell saloon coming in 2015 will be called Mirai.
Toyota hopes this car will mark the start of the mass-market hydrogen age; other fuel-cell cars are on limited-volume trial, but the Japanese hope to be first to mass-market the technology.
If they get it right – and a lot of that will depend on price – Toyota could end up with another Prius-alike game-changer on its hands.
When can I buy a Toyota Mirai fuel-cell?
The Toyota Mirai will go on sale first in Japan in April 2015, followed by the US in the summer and finally Europe next September.
The UK and Germany will be the first European countries to get the Toyota Mirai fuel-cell car, although the company admitted the infrastructure here was limited.
Is is therefore likely that the car will only be available through a select few dealers in areas, such as London, that have a limited hydrogen refuelling network.
How much will the Toyota fuel-cell car cost?
It’s too early to talk exact prices, but it seems likely that Toyota will subsidise this nascent technology to encourage take-up.
Our sources have predicted a cost around £40,000. The car was first shown at the 2013 Tokyo motor show as the Fuel Cell Sedan.
More information on its production successor – the Toyota Mirai – will be available at the Los Angeles motor show this week.