A businessman walks past vehicles at the showroom of the head office of
Japan's auto giant Toyota Motor in Tokyo on November 6, 2013. Toyota
said on November 6 that its half-year net profit soared 82.5 per cent
while it raised its annual earnings forecast as a weak yen and improving
sales in North America boosted its bottom line. PHOTO/Toru YAMANAKA/
AFP
TOKYO,
Toyota
said today it plans to unveil its latest fuel-cell concept car at the
Tokyo Motor show, with an expected commercial rollout two years away.
The
four-seater sedan has a range of 500km — longer than previous versions —
and can be recharged in just three minutes through hydrogen gas tanks
stored inside the vehicle, the Japanese auto giant said ahead of the
exhibition later this month.
Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker, said it would launch a commercial version of the mid-sized vehicle around 2015.
By
that time, there were likely to be “hundreds” of hydrogen refuelling
stations in Japan, Europe and the United States, it added.
Fuel-cell
vehicles are considered the holy grail of green cars because they emit
nothing but water vapour from the tailpipe and can operate on renewable
hydrogen gas.
Toyota’s concept vehicle seeks to jump
two key hurdles that analysts say have hindered consumer buying of
so-called green cars, including electric vehicles — range and
re-fuelling infrastructure.
Relatively high prices have also dented buying of green vehicles.
However
demand for lower-emission vehicles is forecast to grow, with further
technological advances in the field seen as crucial due to toughening
emission standards.
Apart from Toyota, which is working
on its fuel-cell concept car with Germany’s BMW, others are eyeing a
widespread commercial offering.
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