Toyota Mirai, the hydrogen sedan also arrives in Italy. In the trade of next year

VENICE – The Toyota Mirai will also be marketed in Italy. Mauro Caruccio has made it official in Venice, since last January the new general manager of the Italian branch of the Japanese manufacturer. Needless to say, there will be no course of action from dealers, although the interest in fuel cell cars is large on the part of companies and industries. Especially after, thanks to the "diplomatic" work of Toyota in Italy, the national plan for infrastructure for alternative fuels also included hydrogen

The Dafi plans the construction of 25 service stations on the Italian territory to allow the possible dissemination of fuel cell vehicles. National legislation also allows the use of cylinders for on-board storage up to 700 bar and fewer restrictions on the construction of distribution facilities. The launch of the Mirai – a comfortable four-seater 4.9 meters long with a maximum speed of more than 170 hours – will coincide with the scheduled opening of the second Italian service station, that is to say say in the first half of 2019 Currently, there is only one in Bolzano. The second will be built in a large city in the north of the country by an oil company.

The Mirai was already sold in 6 thousand units, mainly concentrated between California and Japan. In Europe (250 models delivered) is priced in 8 countries: in London, the police has a small fleet of hydrogen, while Germany has planned the construction of 100 distributors of electricity. here the end of 2018. Destined to become 400 in the next few years. An ambitious plan and Chancellor Angela Merkel had already had to revise one of the millions of electric cars in circulation in 2020 (it will be a success if it reaches 500,000). In the countries of the Old Continent where it is marketed, the price of the Mirai exceeds 70 000 euros (nearly 74 000 in the United Kingdom, more than 78 000 in Germany), even if the contracts are mainly in the form of laus . The Italian price list has not yet been formalized, but it should not diverge much from that of other nations.

Full (cost included) and battery life are no different than those of a car with a traditional engine: up to 5 minutes for refueling, up to 5 kilograms of fuel. 39, hydrogen (about 10 euros per kg) and up to 500 kilometers reach. There is no restriction on access to the underground car park and the comfort on board is very high as the engine is electric (155 horsepower). Not only is it silent, but the chemical reaction leads to a single emission: that of water, among others, drinking. Toyota has already announced that it wants to increase the production of the model by ten: the current capacity is 3,000 units per year, but will be increased to 30,000 units. Compared to the first Fcev models launched in 2008 by Toyota, Mirai's costs have already been reduced 20 times. And thanks to the economies of scale by 2025, the goal is to get them (for customers) on a par with that of a sedan of the same segment.