Toyota increases production of its Mirai fuel cell car post strong demand

Toyota introduced its Mirai fuel cell vehicle in the middle of December last year. The brand revealed that the hydrogen-powered vehicle will go on sale in Japan immediately, followed by Europe and the US later this year.

Thanks to strong initial demand in Japan, Toyota has now announced that it will increase production of the Mirai. The new plan calls for production to increase from 700 units this year to approximately 2,000 in 2016 and around 3,000 in 2017.

Toyota decided the supply structure should be adjusted to reflect the level of demand for the vehicle, in view of around 1,500 orders being received in the first month of sales in Japan and the prospect of the model being launched in Europe and the USA later this year.

Following the rise in production, sales plans for Japan, the US and Europe will be formulated, taking into consideration the level of hydrogen infrastructure development, energy policies, car purchasing subsidies, consumer demand, environmental regulations and other factors in each region.

What makes the Mirai so special is the that it’s a four-door sedan that can cover up to 483km on a single tank of hydrogen and can be refuelled in under five minutes. Add water vapour as the only form of emission and you get a vehicle which is safer and greener than the existing lot of conventional sedans.