Toyota unveils new fuel cell car in fresh push on hydrogen technology (updated)

Lawson

09/12/2020 08:16

* Toyota's new Mirai to cost around $48,000 after subsidies
    * Toyota to up fuel cell vehicle output ten times to 30,000
a year
    * Toyota looks to lure drivers with longer range, new
features

 (Adds comment, detail)
    By Tim Kelly
    TOKYO, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Japan's Toyota Motor Corp  7203.T 
put its revamped Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car, with 30% greater
range, on sale on Wednesday in a fresh push to promote the
zero-emission technology amid rapidly growing demand for
electric vehicles, including its own.
    Toyota has failed until now to win drivers over to fuel cell
vehicles (FCV), which remain a niche technology despite Japanese
government backing, amid concerns about a lack of fuelling
stations, resale values and the risk of hydrogen explosions.  
    The new Mirai launch comes after Prime Minister Yoshihide
Suga announced a goal in October to cut Japan's carbon emissions
to zero by 2050, in line with a European Union target and ahead
of a pledge by Chinese President Xi Jinping to make his country
“carbon neutral” by 2060.
    "The use of hydrogen is going to be an important factor in
achieving carbon neutrality," Yoshikazu Tanaka, Mirai's chief
engineer said. The car, he added represented a "departure point"
for a broader use of hydrogen fuel cells beyond cars.  
    Hydrogen backers say it is cleaner than other carbon cutting
technologies because water and heat are the only byproducts and
it can be made from sources, including methane, coal, water,
even garbage. Resource-poor Japan also sees it as a route to
energy security.
    By the end of September Toyota, however, had sold only
11,100 of its first generation Mirai, almost six years after its
launch. Most other automakers have eschewed the technology in
favour of electric vehicles (EV), with only Honda Motor Co
 7267.T  and Hyundai Motor  005380.KS  in neighbouring South
Korea competing in hydrogen FCVs. 
    The new Mirai, like its predecessor, is still beyond the
budget of most drivers at about 5 million yen ($48,000) even
after more than $10,000 in Japanese government subsidies. 
    Rather than produce a cheaper car, Toyota said it wants to
lure drivers with longer range - enough to drive around 800
kilometres (497 miles) without refueling - added features such
as autonomous parking and a lower, sleeker design achieved by
moving the hydrogen power unit to the front of the vehicle from
under the car.  
    Accompanying the Mirai's launch Toyota said it planned to
increase the production capacity for all FCVs, including buses
and trucks, to 30,000 a year from 3,000. 
    That output, however is still far behind sales of electric
vehicles. In 2019, automakers sold 2.1 million electric cars
alone, 40% more than the previous year, according to the
International Energy Agency. 
    Toyota had planned to use the postponed 2020 Olympic Games
in Tokyo to showcase its fuel cell technology, with 100 buses
meant to shuttle visitors between venues. The games organizer
also planned to power the Olympic flame with hydrogen.  
    The Mirai revamp comes after Toyota on Tuesday, announced
plans to test small FCV trucks with Japan's three major
convenience store operators, Seven & i Holdings'  3382.T  Seven
Eleven, Itochu Corp's  8001.T  FamilyMart and Lawson Inc
 2651.T . 
    Toyota's best chance of selling the Mirai and other FCV may,
however, be in neighbouring China, where it has an FCV
partnership with Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) and FAW Group
 SASACJ.UL . There are around 7,000 FCVs are on the road in the
world's biggest automarket, versus more than 4 million EVs.
    China, which is aiming for more than 1 million FCVs in
service by 2030 compared with a Japanese target for 800,000, in
September announced fresh support measures for FCVs that
included requiring projects receiving government subsidies to
boost the number of hydrogen-charging stations and make efforts
to cut fuel prices.
    
($1=104.1300 yen)

 (Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Raju
Gopalakrishnan)
 ((tim.kelly@thomsonreuters.com; +813-6441-1311;))