BMW plans market launch of hydrogen vehicles for 2028

BMW has announced that it will launch its first hydrogen-powered vehicle in 2028. The company will use fuel cell technology developed in collaboration with Toyota. This new vehicle will be an existing model that will receive an additional hydrogen fuel cell drive option. The automaker has not yet disclosed detailed information on prices and production volumes. BMW CEO Oliver Zipse emphasized that the vehicle will demonstrate how technological progress shapes the future of mobility. The alliance with Toyota allows both companies to reduce costs and develop a drive unit for passenger cars, whose technology will also be applicable to commercial vehicles. BMW stands out as the strongest proponent of hydrogen technology among German automakers. The company is already testing a hydrogen-powered production vehicle, the iX5 Hydrogen, which has a range of 500 kilometers and a refueling time of three to four minutes. BMW's development of fuel cell vehicles is running parallel to battery-powered vehicles to be able to flexibly respond to the future market dominance of various 'green' technologies. A fuel cell vehicle, similar to an electric vehicle, uses an electric motor. However, the energy comes from a fuel cell stack, where hydrogen is separated by a catalyst to generate electricity. Hydrogen vehicles offer advantages such as fast refueling and long range. However, few car manufacturers have invested in this technology so far, due to high costs and a limited network of refueling stations. BMW assumes that the hydrogen refueling infrastructure will have significantly developed by 2028 to support its plans.