Toyota Motors will start selling its first hydrogen fuelled car, the Mirai, in December. Source: AAP
TOYOTA Motors will start selling its first hydrogen fuelled car, the Mirai, in December, making it the first vehicle of this type produced in series to hit the market.
THE Mirai (meaning "future" in Japanese) will be available in Japan from December 15. It's recommended selling price inclusive of taxes is $US62,094 ($A67,183), according to a company statement.
Toyota aims to sell about 400 units in Japan until the end of 2015 and plans to launch the vehicle in Europe and the United States around next northern summer.Toyota Executive Vice President Mitsuhisa Kato says that in terms of innovation the car goes far beyond even the Prius (a hybrid manufactured by Toyota, which also was a market pioneer), according to the Kyodo News Agency.In a video shown at its launch event, company President Akio Toyoda said the car represented a new era for the automotive industry.The Mirai can run around 650 kilometres on a tank of hydrogen which takes about three minutes to recharge completely and emits only water vapour.The sedan also includes a hybrid system that allows the car to run on petrol.The model was originally presented last June, but Toyota hadn't until now said when it would be available at dealerships.Mirai's launch is part of an initiative of the Japanese public and private sectors to achieve a less-polluting, hydrogen-based society by 2040.Toyota competitor Honda Motor on Monday presented its own hydrogen-fuelled model due for release in March 2016 with limited marketing.The Japanese government earlier in 2014 announced that these cars would have a special subsidy plan which, in Mirai's case, would cut its price in Japan by up to $US42,880.This formula was used to introduce the Toyota Prius in Japan, the first hybrid to be manufactured in series in 1997 and the initial price of which was around $US20,000 at the time.
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