Hydrogen fuel cell saloon sets record driving range for any zero-emissions car on the market

The new Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle has proved it can go the distance, achieving 3,5 litres per 100 km in official US combined city/highway driving calculations, and an estimated driving range of 502 km on a single tank – a distance further than for any other zero-emissions car on the market.

Jim Lentz, Toyota North America CEO, announced the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) fuel economy rating for Mirai at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado this week. It confirms that Mirai is the only zero emissions electric vehicle on the market capable of exceeding 300 miles (480 km) on one fill.

Lenz said: “Toyota realised in the early 90s that electrification was key to the future of the automobile. Just as Prius introduced hybrid-electric vehicles to millions of customers nearly 20 years ago, Mirai is now poised to usher in a new era of efficient, hydrogen transportation.”

Mirai is the world’s first mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle, a four-door saloon with performance that competes with traditional internal combustion engines. Instead of using petrol, Mirai runs on electricity created on demand by hydrogen fuel and oxygen. The only emission produced by this process is water vapour.

Toyota will introduce Mirai in limited numbers in the UK and other selected European markets later this year, following its launch in Japan and, from this summer, California.