Toyota chief bullish over fuel cell cars

Toyota’s chief executive for North America, preparing to sell Camry-sized hydrogen sedans next year, is bullish about advances in the company’s fuel cell system and wants more US supply of the Japan-built cars.

Toyota, the world’s largest seller of hybrid-electric vehicles, is to sell the as-yet unnamed four-door model in California in 2015, as well as in Japan and Europe. Its performance, packaging, and other attributes will generate demand for the car, North American chief Jim Lentz said yesterday, without providing a sales goal.

“After we’ve seen the product, understand its range, its driving dynamics, its refuelling, we’re a lot more bullish than Japan — probably about fivefold more bullish,” Lentz said. “It’s just a question of how many can be produced now.”