BMW borrows technology from Toyota to build new fuel cell vehicle i5. It now remains to see who of the German premium manufacturers who have time first to market with a hydrogen car: BMW with new i5 or Mercedes with a fuel cell powered B-Class?
Our illustrator imagines that BMW i5 basically becomes an extension of the i3 with the “real” back doors. Under the hood is the fuel cell technology from Toyota. Illustration: Schulte Design
After city car i3 and sports hybrid i8 will BMW to launch yet another model – this time with the name of the i5, and as reported to Autocar, it becomes a fuel cell vehicle.
Given partnership with Toyota is not particularly surprising that BMW is investing in fuel cells. The idea is that BMW i5 gets a modified version of the fuel cell system in the new Toyota FCV.
Both Toyota and Honda is now investing heavily in hydrogen and fuel cells. Even Hyundai has a fuel-cell version of the ix35. BMW was among the Hydrogen 7, but then stalled the development of the BMW – until now.
The new hydrogen powered model from BMW will probably end up in the same size class as the Mercedes B-Class or just above.
But even though hydrogen is much faster refueling than to charge an electric car, and even though in many cases it may be easier to build a gas station with the ability to refuel hydrogen than building a fast charge station for electric cars, the technology has also many critics. One of them is the Tesla boss Elon Musk.
“Oh my god, fuel cells are just bullshit. And hydrogen is quite dangerous. It fits in the top of the rockets, but not in cars,” he said at an appearance in Germany last year, and said that electric cars with lithium ion batteries are much better, and above all, cheaper.
Read also: Toyota’s new fuel cell vehicle costs SEK 700,000
Read Also: Here we drink water out of the exhaust pipe on Hyundai’s hydrogen car
Read also: Tesla boss: “Fuel cells are just bullshit”
I think it’s right by BMW to invest in fuel cell vehicles.
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