With a strong touch of Toyota
From 2025, BMW will sell hydrogen cars on a large scale that it has developed together with Toyota. That is what none other than Pieter Nota, member of the executive board at BMW, told the Japanese newspaper Nikkei.
Like Toyota, BMW has a considerable interest in electric cars with a fuel cell on board. The brand has believed in hydrogen cars for years. This became apparent in 2005 when BMW introduced the Hydrogen 7, a prototype of the then current 7-series (E65) with a 6.0 V12 that liked both petrol and hydrogen. BMW is currently working hard on the iX5, an actual electrically powered X5 with a fuel cell. BMW has hooked up with Toyota for that iX5, but the collaboration with Toyota on hydrogen seems to go well beyond that.
BMW and Toyota do match. About ten years ago Toyota used BMW diesel engines – with varying degrees of success – and more recently, the two brands embraced each other to develop the current BMW Z4 and Toyota Supra. The brands are currently busy preparing the iX5 Hydrogen, which will go into production on a small scale this year. Pieter Nota, member of the executive board at BMW, tells the Japanese Nikkei that the brand wants to produce electric hydrogen cars on a large scale by 2025, models that have been partly developed together with Toyota.
Power of choice
BMW firmly believes in what it power of choice mentions: offering the consumer a choice of numerous types of powertrains. For example, cars like the BMW X3 are not only available with conventional petrol or diesel engines, but also with plug-in hybrid and even fully electric powertrains. Yet a model like the iX is always an EV. Nota says that there is not a suitable charging infrastructure for electric cars everywhere, although you can say the same about an infrastructure for hydrogen cars. In addition, the Dutch board member says that BMW would like to safe and does not want to put its entire R&D budget on one type of powertrain.
BMW CEO Oliver Zipse previously indicated that hydrogen is ‘the missing piece in the puzzle of electric transport’. In addition, Zipse indicated that the arrival of electric cars on the Neue Class platform with a fuel cell on board.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl