The Mirai is Toyota’s latest venture into cutting edge car-tech and their first Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV) available for purchase. While some are busy slating hydrogen fuel cells as already being defunct due to advancements in battery technology, the Japanese car maker has enjoyed enormous demand for its cutting edge car.
Launched on 15th December 2014 in Japan, with UK, European and US market launches due later in 2015, original production figures were slated to be 700 units. Demand has proved so high for the car that Toyota have today decided to up production to 2,000 units in 2016 and a further 3,000 units in 2017.
The first month of sales saw a remarkable 1,500 orders placed for the hydrogen powered car, despite not yet being available in other key world markets, including the UK, Europe and the USA.
Following the production increases, sales plans for Japan, the US and Europe will be formulated, taking into consideration the level of hydrogen infrastructure development, energy policies, car purchasing subsidies, consumer demand, environmental regulations and other factors in each region.
The UK currently has less than 20 hydrogen fuel stations, but this is set to increase with government investment, particularly in the south east around London.
[box type=”info”] To read more about hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, how they work and the UK’s infrastructure plans, get the Jan-Feb 2015 issue of AutoVolt! [/box]
Source; Toyota
