Most automakers view investments in hydrogen as a waste of time and valuable resources, but not BMW or Toyota. The two automotive giants believe fuel cell vehicles are viable for production and continue to pursue this niche while most competitors have given up. Toyota has admitted that the Mirai wasn’t a success, but still maintains that hydrogen has a future.
BMW has been researching hydrogen vehicles since the 1970s but has never brought one to market. That will finally change in 2028, when the iX5 Hydrogen goes on sale. While many argue that fuel cell vehicles are a futile effort, the German luxury brand takes a different view. That’s what BMW’s technology director said Car Motor and Sport that hydrogen will play a “crucial role” in the automotive industry.
Joachim Post assumes that the hydrogen infrastructure will be expanded in the coming years. BMW has not yet decided whether it will bring additional fuel cell models to market beyond the iX5 60H xDrive, but it expects momentum to increase: “A lot is happening in Japan, Korea and California at the moment.”
Although the hydrogen-powered iX5 is unlikely to be a top seller at first, BMW’s CTO highlights a key advantage of fuel cell vehicles. An FCEV would make BMW less dependent on certain raw materials than traditional electric vehicles that require large battery packs. Of course, hydrogen cars are also seen in Munich as another instrument for decarbonization. “We are convinced that our strategy of technological openness is absolutely the right one.”
The iX5 Hydrogen is built on the same Spartanburg assembly line as the internal combustion engine X5. The battery-electric iX5 is also produced at the South Carolina plant, with all versions of the luxury SUV sharing the CLAR platform. This offering includes plug-in hybrids and the hotter V8-powered M variants.
You don’t have to wait until 2028 to buy the fifth-generation X5. The “G65” is actually scheduled to come onto the market this year with gasoline, diesel, plug-in hybrid and fully electric drives. About two years later, the fuel cell version will be BMW’s first commercially available hydrogen car. All efforts to date have been limited to demonstration and test vehicles, none of which have been sold to customers.
BMW and Toyota are not the only car manufacturers that still believe in hydrogen. While Stellantis and General Motors recently pulled the plug, brands like Honda and Hyundai continue to see fuel cell vehicles as part of the solution to reducing fleet emissions.
Source: Auto Motor und Sport
