The hydrogen-powered Toyota FCV, previewed by an oddly styled concept by the same name, will cost the equivalent of about $69,000 in Japan when it goes on sale as early as this year. Toyota executives said they had cut back from an initial target of 10 million yen ($98,000 at current exchange rates) and that the latest price would be competitive with other alternative-fuel models on the market (read: Tesla’s Model S). After hitting the Japanese market, Toyota’s FCV will go on sale in California by next summer.
Toyota hasn’t set a U.S. price yet, although given the brand’s current lease-only program for its Highlander-based FCHV models in the U.S. and Japan–which have covered more than 1.2 million miles, by the way–we’d expect the FCV to follow suit. Even at Lexus price levels, Toyota should have no trouble selling a few dozen cars to the early hydrogen adopters willing to pay the premium. (Honda has proved that early-adopter theory with its $600-per-month FCX Clarity that will be replaced next year by a new hydrogen sedan.) Other than the Japanese pricing information, Toyota did not reveal any new specifications or details about the FCV; we already knew it has an estimated 300-mile range and will boast the ability to act as a generator to power owners’ homes.
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Critically, Toyota is subsidizing operation and maintenance costs for new hydrogen fueling stations in California, where the state government is also handing out $200 million to build 100 stations by 2024. By then, Toyota says it will launch a third-gen fuel-cell model that, ideally, would cost as much as a comparable gas-electric hybrid. Toyota executive vice president Mitsuhisa Kato explains: “This is a way to create a society where hydrogen is a norm.” We’ll see—first the infrastructure needs to be in place … and in more locations outside of California.
We aren’t exactly skeptics, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk certainly is, having called the fuel “bullshit.” Nevertheless, Toyota remains bullish on the technology and has signaled—partially by cutting ties with Tesla and ending RAV4 EV production—that it is prioritizing fuel-cell development over new battery-electric vehicles. Toyota isn’t necessarily alone on the fuel-cell bandwagon—Hyundai is bringing a hydrogen-powered Tucson to market, and Honda’s aforementioned FCX Clarity replacement is coming soon—but there’s no question that the cars face a limited hydrogen infrastructure.
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