Toyota, in the sustainability vehicle market, is very well know for the Toyota Prius which was released for the market seventeen years ago. They are known for the hybrid.
So why are they putting so much effort into the newly unveiled Toyota FCV? (FCV standing for Fuel Cell Vehicle)
Thinking of the prep video from Class 8, I think about what was said about the ladder and positioning. How it is hard to push a leader off the top. Toyota, in my mind, is the leader of hybrids with their Prius, while Tesla, in my opinion again, is the leader of electric vehicles. (The latter somewhat because of my love of the Lotus Elise and, in case no one told you, the Tesla Roadster was basically an electric twin of the Elise– it was also 6% Lotus so thats cool).
But wouldn’t it seem like natural progression for Toyota to be transitioning into electric vehicles? Yes, but they wouldn’t be first so whether they do electric vehicles today or ten years from now, it doesn’t matter.
Thus, next year, Toyota will be releasing one of the first cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells to the public market (in Europe, Japan and California). And suddenly, they have positioned themselves first.
Personally, I have never heard of a Fuel Cell Vehicle until twenty minutes ago when browsing BBC News. A quick Wikipedia scan later and I know that a FCV creates electricity to power the electric motor by a combination of oxygen (very very abundant) and hydrogen.
The issues with hydrogen are very similar to electricity, at least in regards to the fuel/charging stations and whether the infrastructure is worth it/will be available. However, people need to begin thinking long term. In the future, the infrastructure will be there– for all electric and hydrogen cars alike. Similar to when Toyota first released the Prius way back in 1997, they again are thinking long term. And if it plays out like the Prius has for them on the hybrid market, then Toyota could be sitting with a winner on their hands.
As a Toyota owner and fangirl (google “Toyota second gen MR2” and try to convince me that car isn’t the coolest), I am curious at what Toyota has in store for the gradual shift in the car market towards more sustainable options.
Bibliography
Toyota plans for a fuel cell future. (n.d.).BBC News. Retrieved October 6, 2014, from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29459999