BMW Commits to Commercial Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car

BMW has finally committed to the creation of a commercial hydrogen fuel cell car in the near future.

This FC car has been over 2 1/2 decades in the making, with the German car maker working towards this point. Speaking about this was BMW Director of Development, Klaus Frölich, who said: “In the early ‘20s there will be a small series of X5 hydrogen cars and by 2025 there will be a mass producible hydrogen car available ….”

With BMW having told people in 2015 that 2019 would be the year for one of their first teaser cars of this type, this is an interesting development. Despite pushbacks, with 2021 now looking like a more likely release date. there is immense excitement among the auto industry to see what is produced here.

Indeed, in 2015, BMW then vice-president, Matthias Klietz, said that a date between 2020 and 2025 would be the most likely time for a hydrogen fuel cell development project to take place. BMW has been trying to catch-up with top brands, Toyota and Honda included, on fuel-cell stack technology. However, one note of caution was made in the past: that hydrogen fuel cell cars will not be cheap.

Indeed, it was even stated that the cost to produce a fuel-cell car could be twice that of a traditional car, even in 2025. However, the cost of producing fuel cells have come down dramatically over the past 5 years. And, in fact, Toyota has stated that in the next couple of years, they intend to sell and FCEV within the $30,000’s price range.

While Mercedes is already on the market with its GLC Fuel Cell, and Toyota, Hyundai and Honda are all producing fuel-cell cars of their own, it’s time for BMW to finally step up to the plate. With every other major car brand taking their time to move into this lucrative market, the Munich-based car giant looks set to finally take the steps to remove the feeling that they are lagging behind their opponents.

Here’s one other nugget of information according to Forbes, “Even the Volkswagen Group’s low-volume luxury brand Bentley is 10 days away from launching its EXP 100 GT Concept, which is rumored to have a hydrogen fuel-cell hybrid powertrain.”

What about you, Rolls-Royce – would you like to jump into the hydrogen fuel cell game as well?

Citation

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltaylor/2019/07/01/bmw-promises-to-join-the-hydrogen-fuel-cell-party-soon/#3ae16e5931ed