Toyota Mirai Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle To Go On Sale In Canada – Video
Toyota Canada today took an important step towards the future of sustainable mobility in Canada, announcing that the Toyota Mirai – powered by hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrain technology – is coming to Canada this year. As Toyota kicked off its participation in the Montréal International Auto Show, the company confirmed it would launch starting with select fleets in Québec, where the Mirai will take advantage of the province’s clean hydroelectric power generation to offer drivers a remarkably clean, more sustainable alternative to the conventional automobile.
“Toyota is passionate about helping Canada, and societies around the world, enjoy a greener future – as we have outlined in our Environmental Challenge 2050. And the Mirai – a zero-emissions, production model sedan – is an important milestone as we work to achieve this,” said Martin Gilbert, Director of Sales Planning and Innovation, Toyota Canada Inc. “Working closely with the Québec government and key stakeholders, we feel the time is right to put Mirai on the road in the province.”
“Québec is well positioned to become a world leader in terms of energy transition, a challenge for all modern economies”, said Pierre Moreau, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. “This challenge cannot be solved alone; it’s by building strategic partnerships with companies like Toyota, which today launches the Mirai, a fuel cell electric vehicle, that we will succeed.”
“The arrival of the Mirai in Quebec is perfectly in line with the adoption of the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) standard last December, which aims to substantially increase the number of electric cars on Quebec roads”, said Isabelle Melançon, Minister of Sustainable Development, the Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change. “This standard will give Quebecers access to a wider range of electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids. Toyota’s announcement demonstrates that builders are hard at work to meet the greenhouse gas reduction targets we collectively set for the benefit of our planet and future generations. ”
The Mirai’s introduction follows the successful market launch of the Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid vehicle. The company launched a real-world market trial of Prius Prime in Québec in mid-2017, and the overwhelming success of that experience has set the stage for expanding Prius Prime to the rest of Canada this year. It also created a blueprint for advanced technology vehicle introductions – one that will help Toyota ensure that Canadians embrace fuel cell electric vehicles such as the Mirai with the same enthusiasm that they have shown for the Prius and other electrified Toyota vehicles.
Of course, Mirai needs a source of hydrogen, and since Hydro Québec is the world’s fourth-largest producer of clean hydro-electricity that means that the hydrogen used to drive Mirai will be produced from remarkably clean sources too. Toyota Canada has been working closely with partners in Quebec over the past year – in particular, the Ministries of Energy, Environment, and Transportation – to ensure the introduction of an appropriate fueling infrastructure in the province.
With its advanced technology under the hood, the 2018 Toyota Mirai delivers three key benefits that Toyota feels are important to Canadians. First, there’s no need for range anxiety, as the Mirai can travel more than 500 km on a tank of hydrogen. Second, refuelling time is similar to a regular gasoline vehicle, taking approximately five minutes to refill the tank. And third, the Mirai has proven cold-weather reliability – especially important as many parts of Canada have experienced new, record-cold temperatures this winter.
Mirai stores hydrogen in its fuel tank. This is combined with oxygen in the fuel cell stack. The resulting chemical reaction produces two things: electricity, and water. The electricity powers the vehicle, delivering 151 peak horsepower and up to 247 lb-ft of torque. And the water leaves through the tailpipe as Mirai’s only emission.