A while ago, Toyota’s subsidiary Hino Motors premiered its 25-tonne (55,000-lb) cab-over truck for Europe. The unnamed model came powered by the same hydrogen fuel cells as the ones used by the second-gen Toyota Mirai sedan (see video). Now, a similar truck model has been announced for the USA – and it is not a cab-over.
Technical details are scares at the moment. We know that the driving range is estimated at around 600 kilometers (400 miles), and that there will be a backup battery for a bit of extra electric range, but its capacity remains unspecified. The first working prototype should emerge in 2021, and the production is scheduled to begin a few years after that.
It has to be said that Toyota has been researching hydrogen powertrain technologies for two decades now, but has never created any heavy-duty trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cells so far.