Increasing the stringent environmental
regulations in major markets was encouraging automakers to develop new
generation production of green cars. Toyota Motor one of the largest led the
way in popularizing hybrids is now in position as the company brings
hydrogen-fueled, zero-carbon-emission vehicles into the market.
Cars powered by odorless and colorless
gas are not exactly new to us. What is new is not-quite-so-astronomical price
tag of the model that Japanese company plans to release through next March.
Toyota's car will go for about 7 million yen ($67,500); a decade ago, hydrogen
fuel cell vehicles were estimated to cost around 100 million yen.
"We have finally developed a car
that can change society," Toyota Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada told Japan
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe when the prime minister visited the hydrogen fueling
station in the western city of Kitakyushu.
Abe's growth strategy calls for
making hydrogen a major energy source for the country. Large quantities of the
gas are produced here as a byproduct at steel and chemical plants.
"Instead of importing crude oil,
we can invest to develop and expand hydrogen supply infrastructure,"
Uchiyamada
suggested to Abe, branding the new car "a solution to energy
problems."
Japan Prime Minister Abe drove the
Toyota's prototype car for about two minutes. He also examined the mechanism of
the car's rear section that disposes of water, which is produced as hydrogen
generates electricity. "We will make an all-out effort to promote"
fuel cell cars, the prime minister pledged. "We will offer at least 2 million
yen (in subsidies) for each unit."
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