Fuel Cell Powered Toyota Mirai For India, Company Assessing Feasibility

If everything goes according to plan, then India could get its first fuel-cell car in the form of the Toyota Mirai. The Japanese carmaker is actively looking at the feasibility of alternate fuel-celled cars or hydrogen cars for India and the Mirai tops the list among other options. The news comes in as the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council in its 28th meeting held under the Chairmanship of Piyush Goyal , Union Minister for Railways, Coal, Finance & Corporate Affairs announced that the tax on fuel cell vehicles has been brought down to 12 per cent from the earlier 28 per cent. The GST council added that the compensation cess shall also be exempted on fuel-celled vehicles. The GST council incidentally has also reduced the taxes on lithium ion batteries from 28 per cent to 18 per cent. 

(Toyota Mirai Interior)

Also Read: Hyundai NEXO Fuel Cell EV Showcased At India-Korea Business Summit

According to a report by TOI, a spokesperson for Toyota India has been quoted saying that it is encouraging to see the government considering technology-agnostic solutions when it comes to controlling vehicular emissions. He added that Toyota will be looking into fuel cell technology for India in the near future although cars like the Mirai could still be expensive in India as the import duty structures for these cars are still very steep. 

Other fuel cell vehicles in India include the Tata Motors Starbus Electric 9m, Starbus Electric 12m and the Starbus Hybrid 12m range of buses, which are designed, developed, powered by alternate fuels and made in India. The Hydrogen Powered Starbus Fuel Cell bus is a zero-emission mass transport solution, for inter-city commute and has been developed in partnership with ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization).

(The Toyota Mirai can be refilled with hydrogen in just 5 minutes, while electric cars take hours to be charged)

Also Read: Hydrogen Is Right Choice As Fuel For Automobiles, Says Former ISRO Chairman

At this year's India-Korean business summit, Hyundai Motor India Limited showcased the NEXO, its next-gen fuel cell electric vehicle to the Prime Minster of India, Narendra Modi. The NEXO SUV is Hyundai's important step to develop low emission models globally and gets a fuel cell drivetrain which is lighter than a regular electric powertrain. The South Korean company says that the NEXO makes about 161 bhp of max power and peak torque of 395 Nm and can do the 0-100kmph sprint in 9.2 seconds with a top speed of 177kmph. The Nexo can travel about 600kms on a single charge according to Korean test standards.

Also Read: Tata Motors Reveals India's First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus

Globally, Audi and Hyundai agreed to cross-license patents and grant access to non-competitive components for the development of fuel celled vehicles. The agreement is currently subject to approval from the applicable regulatory authorities and through the collaboration, both companies aim to bring the fuel cell to volume production maturity quickly.