The automobile industry has made giant strides towards a green tomorrow in the last few years and that should not surprise anyone with the growing scarcity for fossil fuel and the simple fact that the prices of crude oil are going up in an insane fashion. But one must give credit where it is due and the automobile sector has indeed gone that extra mile to make sure that it meets the environmental standards that the world is setting for itself. Now Toyota has gone a step further with the all new fuel cell hybrid vehicle-advanced and the green vehicle is all set to be showcased soon.
The FCHV-adv acquired vehicle-type certification from Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure Transport and Tourism on June 3, 2008. The cruising distance of the FCHV, which was released for leasing in 2002 and is the predecessor of the FCHV-adv, was only 330km. The range of the FCHV-adv has been extended to 830km. The FCHV-adv’s fuel cell system was redesigned to further improve cold-start performance and cruising distance, which presented obstacles to the widespread use of fuel cell hybrids.
Toyota plans to provide an FCHV-adv as a test-ride vehicle at the Environmental Showcase, which will be set up in the International Media Centre during Hokkaido Toyako Summit starting from July 7 to 9, 2008. The new car surely is going to be a trend setter in terms of eco-standards for future fuel cell powered cars to follow and one has no reason to doubt that the other makers will soon challenge Toyota in this green field.
