Toyota is reportedly investing big money in hydrogen and electric-powered cars under the soon-to-be new CEO Koji Sato.
Sato, who will succeed Akio Toyoda as Toyota’s CEO next month, told Automotive News that hydrogen-powered cars remain a “viable option” for carbon-neutral mobility. While talking to the scribe, Sato stated:
We want to ensure that hydrogen stays a viable option. We need a production and transport supply chain. Unless we see evolution there, we cannot expect a volume increase in the energy’s use.
Toyota has partnered with Kawasaki Heavy Industries — the developer of carrier ships for liquid hydrogen — and Iwatani Corporation to improve Japan’s hydrogen-powered automobile infrastructure.
Since 2014, Toyota has developed two models of the hydrogen-powered Mirai, which powers an electric motor using a fuel cell. The company is also exploring hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines as an option for green mobility.
Since early 2021, Toyota has exhibited many prototype cars with hydrogen combustion engines. These engines can operate on both, gas and liquid hydrogen, with nearly no harmful gases.
Toyota has yet to unveil its hydrogen-powered model lineup, with Sato telling Automotive News that there is no “defined business target at this time” for hydrogen-powered cars.
Toyota expects to sell 3.5 million battery-powered vehicles worldwide by 2030, including 12 new models, despite its reluctance toward an all-electric future.
