Toyota Releases Japanese Pricing for New Hydrogen Model

2016 Toyota FCV (Credit: © Toyota)

Fans of hydrogen fuel have reason to celebrate as the Toyota FCV inches closer to production and distribution in the United States. Japan will be receiving the new model first and the automaker recently released pricing info for the model in the island nation. The car will set buyers back roughly $69,000, which might sound pricey to some for a new Toyota (keep in mind that would be a screaming deal for a new Land Cruiser). Of course, that price is a steal compared to the original price Toyota executives were targeting of about $98,000. Toyota has stated that the price of the car is competitive with the Tesla Model S, which undoubtedly will be the main rival in the market.

Consumers in California will be the first in the United States to have a crack at the expensive Toyota model when it goes on sale officially in the summer of 2015. It’s highly likely that the new model will only be available for lease as Toyota tries out the experimental technology. Drivers who want to be part of the fuel experiment will need to likely wait until next spring to find out how much they will pay out on a monthly basis for that privilege.

If you’re thinking the Toyota FCV will be priced too high to attract lessees, think again. Honda already charges $600 per month to lease the FCX Clarity and has had no problem attracting early adopters. In fact, Honda will be launching a replacement for the hydrogen model next year, only adding to the ranks of alternative fuel models on the market.

Few detailed specs are available for the Toyota FCV. The company has stated that the car will have a range of somewhere around 300 miles and will be able to provide backup power for an owner’s home in the event of an emergency.