Today, the first production Toyota Mirai – meaning “the future” in Japanese – destined for the European market has arrived, and, like its elder, it is here to pioneer the next step in clean mobility, using hydrogen as fuel and emitting nothing but water vapour. The first five Mirai cars were unloaded in Bristol, UK and Zeebrugge, Belgium, respectively on 8 and 10 August.
The Toyota Mirai is the world’s first mass-produced fuel cell sedan. After its first public display in Europe in March at the Geneva Motor Show, today marks its debut on European ground. Already sold in Japan since last December, the Toyota Mirai will be launched in Europe from September in the UK, Denmark and Germany.
With the The Mirai, Toyota is at the forefront of the fuel cell development thanks to their advanced engineering capabilities and their deep knowledge and experience of Hybrid technology. Mirai will allow them to grow awareness, knowledge and acceptance of the fuel cell technology and to promote the development of the required hydrogen infrastructure.
It will also help them understand customer experience with the new technology, with trailblazers who want to drive the hydrogen movement forward. The Mirai uses the pioneering Toyota Fuel Cell System (TFCS), which features both fuel cell technology and hybrid technology, and includes Toyota’s new proprietary fuel cell stack and high-pressure hydrogen tanks.
Using hydrogen as fuel to generate electricity, Mirai achieves superior environment performance with no CO2 emissions or pollutants when driving, and the same level of convenience and autonomy as gasoline engine vehicles, with a generous cruising range and a hydrogen refuelling time of about three to five minutes.
