Toyota and BMW to team up on hydrogen cars, but mostly Toyota

If all goes according to plan, both companies will have hydrogen-powered models out in 2015.

BMW are no strangers to alternative fuels. The Bavarians are soon to bring out the i8 and i3, both among the more advanced cars in the EV/plug-in hybrid niche. They even experimented with hydrogen as a fuel for internal-combustion engines. But as disappointing sales of electric cars have been leading many automakers to turn their attention to hydrogen fuel cell cars, BMW doesn’t want to be so late to the game this time. So it has entered an agreement with Toyota to gain access to their hydrogen technology, according to Green Car Reports. But for all of BMW’s work in alternative fuels, this will mostly be Toyota’s game.

Toyota recently debuted their FCV-R concept, a hydrogen fuel cell car which looks mostly like a Prius but with a concept-y front fascia. Past reports from Toyota have shown a reluctance to enter the battery electric car fray, choosing instead to focus on the more usable technology in hybrids and fuel cells. Already the makers of the world’s bestselling (by a huge margin) hybrid, Toyota plans to bring out a production hydrogen car in 2015, and through their access to that same technology, BMW will be bringing out their own model the same year. There is no official word yet, but technology is likely to be the only thing shared between the two companies. BMW certainly hasn’t shown any interest in captive imports since the Isetta became a fully BMW model in 1955. So don’t expect to see a hydrogen-powered Toyota wearing BMW badges, but go ahead and take comfort in the fact that the science has come from an industry leader.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com