18 August 2022
BMW and Toyota’s long-standing green partnership is relatively close to bearing more fruit.
In an interview, Pieter Nota, BMW Board Member, said, ‘that the brands aim to sell jointly developed hydrogen fuel cell vehicles by 2025.’ Whilst Nota wasn’t specific, he stressed that fuel cells are ‘particularly relevant for large SUVs like the iX5 Hydrogen concept, with small-volume production expected to start by the end of 2022.’
It is well known that BMW and Toyota have collaborated on numerous cars over the years, including the recent revival of the Supra sports car and BMW Z4 convertible.
A joint statement said: ‘The companies are convinced that fuel cell technology is one of the solutions necessary to achieve zero emissions. BMW Group and TMC are to share their technologies and jointly develop an entire fuel-cell vehicle system, including a fuel cell stack system and a hydrogen tank, motor and battery.
The above agreement followed a memorandum of understanding signed in June 2012.
It may seem odd to continue working on hydrogen-powered vehicles when EVs seem to command the headlines.
Nota pointed out that Fuel Cell cars can be refilled in just a few minutes, whereas EVs take several times longer to recharge. He also said that BMW didn’t want to pour all its investments into one technology and that hydrogen models aren’t as prone to supply shortages as their electric counterparts.
