Toyota to start production of hydrogen vehicles in December
Sun, 08 Jun 2014Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell vehicle will be in showrooms sooner than planned, the Japan Times reporting that production will commence in mid-December with the sedan following "by the end of this year." No reason was given for the new timeline; Toyota has been saying all along that we'd see it in 2015.
The company is said to be "considering" production volume of "dozens of... vehicles per month" at a "likely" price of eight million yen, which is $78,030 US. That is well in line with the numbers thrown around last year, when the target was somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000. Then late last year, during our first drive of the FCHV mule, we wrote that "the official quote... [is] that a price of 'less than 10 million yen is ideal.'"
That alleged $78K is a sizable sum to be one of the early adopters on the hydrogen fuel cell wagon train, but with things moving around so much – and with Toyota publicly citing hydrogen fuel cells as the future – there's plenty of reason to be cautious about that number.
By Jonathon Ramsey
See also: Minivan market not what it used to be, but margins make up for it, Japan's government gives hydrogen vehicles a big boost, Japanese automakers kick in $800k for new charging-station company.