- TOKYO (AP) - Toyota Motor
Corp hopes to become the world's first automaker to launch a
hydrogen-powered
fuel cell vehicle for commercial use by marketing a car using the
futuristic
technology next year, a report said yesterday.
-
- Toyota plans to start selling its environmentally
friendly
FCHV-4 in Tokyo by summer in 2003, the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper
reported.
-
- Fuel cell cars run on energy produced in a chemical
reaction
combining hydrogen and oxygen, making them virtually pollution-free.
-
- Major automakers have been developing fuel cell vehicles,
but a high price has kept the cars out of showrooms. Toyota's version will
cost about 10 million yen ($75,000), making the target customer large
corporations
and the government.
-
- The launch will initially be limited to Tokyo because
hydrogen refuelling stations are being set up in the capital. The top speed
of the FCVH-4, which stands for "fuel cell hybrid vehicle,'' is 150
kilometres an hour and it has a cruising range of more than 250 kms. The
car is modelled after Toyota's Kluger V sport-utility vehicle, which is
marketed in North America as the Highlander..
|
