Lexus Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle in 2015?

Posted by Kevin on July 2nd, 2013

Bloomberg is reporting that Lexus may be getting a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle as early as next year:

At the Tokyo Motor Show in November, [Toyota] plans to show a hydrogen-powered sedan that would be sold as a 2015 model. It could be available in U.S. dealerships as soon next year for a price comparable to a mid-size BMW or Tesla Model S.

Toyota had said the model would be a Lexus with a price about $50,000. It’s now non-committal on the brand, and the car will cost in the neighborhood of $50,000, “depending on how big your neighborhood is,” Chris Hostetter, U.S. group vice president for advanced product development, told reporters last month.

While there seems to be no doubt that a fuel cell vehicle is coming, it’s unclear if it will actually be a Lexus — still, it would explain the modified HS 250h spotted in the USA:

The Bloomberg article serves as a great starting point for anyone curious about fuel cell vehicles — it makes for some exciting possibilities, even if consumer adoption will be limited in the short term by a lack of hydrogen gas stations.

(The above photo is the Toyota FCV-R concept from the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show — which coincidentally looks just like the HS 250h.)

Read more about the Toyota/Lexus Fuel Cell Vehicle

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Comments
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    justin
  • July 2, 2013
50K? it better not look like an HS... whos going to buy it?
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    Joe
  • July 2, 2013
Interesting... It is important that Lexus models are used as a sort of driving laboratories, just like Prius has been for Toyota. It is frustrating to see that Porsche Panamera is launched with plug-in hybrid technology whereas Lexus LS 600 simply takes over the existing drive train of the previous model with some minor changes to improve CO2 emissions. A faster BMW 750i without hybrid technology has equal emission figures (199 g/km in European test cycle). Lexus should definitely stay ahead of its competitors in hybrid technology. Hydrogen will be part of this, so why not in a Lexus?
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      Jerry
    • July 2, 2013
    I agree, Lexus needs to improve the LSh in terms of performance and efficiency. Its a great car but I can see why some view it as pointless. 500 hp AND 25-30 mpg would be good. That would at least justify the $40k price premium over the non-hybrid LS.
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      Randy
    • September 4, 2013
    Hydrogen will never be a part of this… Hydrogen costs more than gas, is hard to store, has very limited ranges, and is sourced from cracking natural gas. CNG is much cheaper and there is an infrastructure for it already. The future is all electric though, so why doesn't Toyota offer an EV Prius?
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    Jerry
  • July 2, 2013
I don't see Toyota selling a $50,000 midsize sedan so I would assume it would be a Lexus. Makes me wonder what Lexus would call it. H already stands for hybrid.
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      Randy
    • September 4, 2013
    By the looks of it, they should call it a boat!
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    Randy
  • September 4, 2013
FEV will never catch on. Hydrogen has to be chilled to about -430º F to become a liquid, or only about 29ºF above absolute zero. A gas takes up a thousand times the volume of a liquid, and because condensing it is not an option, you have an extremely limited range or no trunk on these cars. Hydrogen is mostly taken from methane, or natural gas. CNG cars are much cheaper, there is an infrastructure already, and the fuel is a third of the price. Stripping hydrogen from water is way too energy intensive. The future is BEV, the battery-electric vehicle. At 2 cents a mile and no maintenance, these cars are much more efficient, cheaper, and has an infrastructure already. You are not limited to one fuel source, you can generate electrical energy in many different ways. They run on cheap, wasted, off peak power too. Hydrogen is a lie that auto companies and oil companies like because they don't actually have to produce anything new. And oil companies control hydrogen.
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    Aegys87
  • September 5, 2013
Is that compressed hydrogen on the picture above? From my experience with CNG car, it took ages to fill up, if using hydrogen fuel cell is to catch on it better be in liquid hydrogen form, which means a more expensive infrastructure and energy consumption.
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    Aegys87
  • September 5, 2013
I doubt if they could bring the price down to $50,000...even the Hyundai FCV prototype version cost at least $1 million...

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