Toyota to test hydrogen car in Oz

The car that Toyota hopes will start a refuelling revolution will be tested in Australia.

But the prospects of the production version of the hydrogen fuel cell FCV electric car concept unveiled at the Tokyo motor show last week going on sale in Australia any time soon are non-existent.

The FCV, which will gain a new name in production, goes on sale in Japan, the US and Europe from 2015, in selected areas where hydrogen refuelling infrastructure exists.

In Australia there is virtually no such infrastructure and Toyota Australia sees importing an FCV as a chance to underline its green credentials and technical capabilities rather than seriously considering it for sale within the next decade -- or more.

“I think within Australia what we would do in the next decade is test,” said Toyota Australia Marketing and Sales Executive Director Tony Cramb.

“The big issue with hydrogen is we don’t have the infrastructure in Australia.

“So initially the idea for us would be to bring one in and test it, give it to you guys (media), have a look at it ourselves, work out whether it is suitable for our market.

“But you are not likely to see it (on sale) in the next 10 years in Australia.”

At least you don’t have to wait till 2015 for a drive review because motoring.com.au sampled the FCV in Japan last week.

Hydrogen was the future fuel of the moment at both the Tokyo and LA shows last week, with Hyundai and Honda announcing plans to start selling hydrogen-fuelled electric vehicles.

Hyundai will lease a hydrogen ix35 SUV in the Los Angeles area from 2014 and Honda will launch a vehicle in 2015 in the US and Japan, as previewed at the Los Angeles show by the FCEV concept.

The appeal of hydrogen is obvious. The most abundant element in the known universe, when combined with oxygen in a fuel cell stack it creates electricity and expels only water from the exhaust pipe.

Toyota is promising the production version of the FCV will cost between $50,000 and $100,000 and provide performance roughly equivalent to a Holden Volt range-extender hybrid.

Its cruising range will be up to 700km and refuelling of its two high-pressure tanks will take only three minutes.

That compares to the known challenges revolving around the main future fuel rival for hydrogen, plug-in battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) such as the Nissan LEAF, which takes hours to recharge and exhaust it electricity in 200km or less.

But at least electricity is relatively accessible for plug-in cars -- something zeroed in on by Nissan-Renault boss Carlos Ghosn, who has backed BEVs to the hilt.

“I would be very curious and interested to see competitors who say they are going to mass market the car in 2015,” he told Bloomberg. “Where’s the infrastructure? Who’s going to build it?”

Tesla owner Elon Musk is also a high-profile critic, describing fuel cells as too complex, too costly and not clean enough, because most hydrogen is generated from natural gas.

Toyota’s counter argument is that BEVs and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will live alongside each other and will also have to make room for oil-fuelled and other drivetrains for some time to come.

As the infrastructure spreads, sales will grow into the tens of thousands per annum by the 2020s, Toyota argues.

“For the shorter cruising and smaller cars we think the battery EV is appropriate and for the longer drive and larger vehicle we think the fuel cell vehicle is appropriate,” explained Hitoshi Nomasa, a Toyota product planning project manager.

Nomasa also argued hydrogen can come from clean as well as dirty sources, just like electricity.

“There are several ways to produce hydrogen, just as there are several ways to produce electricity. Basically battery EV and fuel cell EV are facing the same issue.

“So if we can create electricity and the fuel cell from wind power or solar power there is no CO2 emission.”

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