Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday it has developed a new fuel-cell hybrid, a car powered by hydrogen and electricity that can travel more than twice the distance of its predecessor model without filling up.
The improved model's maximum cruising range is 830 km, compared with 330 km for Toyota's previous fuel-cell model, Japan's top carmaker said.
The FCHV-adv model, which received government approval Tuesday, will be available for leasing in Japan later this year, Toyota spokeswoman Kayo Doi said. Pricing and other details weren't available, and overseas plans were still undecided, she said.
Fuel-cell vehicles produce no pollution by running on the power of the chemical reaction when hydrogen stored in a tank combines with oxygen in the air to produce water.
The FCHV-adv from the world's second-biggest automaker also comes with an electric motor and works as a hybrid by switching between that motor and the hydrogen-powered fuel cell. Toyota's Prius hybrid switches between an electric motor and a standard gasoline engine.
Fuel efficiency in the FCHV-adv was improved 25 percent, Toyota said.