Massive hydrogen cars partnership forms between BMW and Toyota

The goal is to launch a “series production” H2 passenger vehicle before the end of 2028

BMW has announced its intentions to launch “series production” hydrogen cars before the close of 2028, and it plans to do so with the assistance of Toyota, according to a recent announcement from BMW.

The automakers will work together to create a brand-new fuel cell powertrain

BMW and Toyota will jointly develop a new fuel cell powertrain for the hydrogen cars.  It will be used in an H2 model that will be released by BMW, and that will also later be incorporated into a future Toyota model, said a press release.

BMW’s plan is to work the newly developed powertrain into an existing model, suggesting that the automaker’s strategy involves an expectation for substantial sales volume in this category.

The automaker has been working its way back to hydrogen cars for a while

This move is in alignment with the comments made by BMW CEO Oliver Zipse back in 2022, when he described his opinion on the promise of fuel cells.  Back at that time, during an earnings call, he stated that BMW would need to develop and offer fuel cell vehicles if it expects to be able to meet its electrification targets.  Among those goals include making 50 percent of the automaker’s sales volume electric by the end of the decade.

According to Zipse, the automaker also had potential for adapting its future electric vehicle platform in order to incorporate hydrogen cars as well. That said, it has yet to be made clear whether that is the specific intention for the H2 model it plans to release in 2028.
Powering passenger vehicles with H2

BMW has worked with Toyota before, and it has even done so in the H2 category.  They once worked together on the iX5, which was a fuel cell alternative to the X5 SUV, which was equipped with BMW electric drive components and a Toyota fuel cell stack.  The first of those vehicles were rolled out in 2022. That said, the iX5 was created only as a low-volume vehicle, mainly used for testing and demonstrations.

Aside from that, the automakers have also worked together on the BMW Z4 and Toyota Supra sports cars, though those models were not powered by electric motors.

Is the market really there for hydrogen cars?

Toyota has continued to sell its own hydrogen cars in the form of the Mirai. That said, this is still occurring in only low numbers.  Many of the other automakers that had initially focused on H2 for passenger vehicles have moved on to commercial trucks, heavy machinery and other areas.