Toyota Motor Corp said Wednesday it would start selling its new hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle in Japan in March with a sticker price of about 7 million yen (68,600 dollars). The carmaker said it will also launch the vehicle in Europe and the United States around mid-2015.
“I believe the fuel-cell vehicle has major potential as an extremely eco-friendly car,” Toyota executive vice president Mitsuhisa Kato told a news conference.
Fuel-cell vehicles emit only water vapor because they are powered by electricity generated through a chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen, Toyota said.
The vehicles emit no carbon dioxide and can be charged in three minutes for a driving distance of about 700 kilometres, it said.
The car will go on sale in major Japanese cities where the development of hydrogen charging stations will be located.