Toyota is still keeping the hydrogen dream alive, though at a scale that’s not even close to the automaker’s hybrid vehicle might. We all know about the slow-selling Mirai and the refueling nightmare that the few American owners have to go through to keep their cars running, but now there’s a new kid on the block.

This is the second-generation Toyota Sora urban and regional bus, which is powered by the Japanese giant’s latest hydrogen fuel cell stack. A fuel cell stack mounted on the roof generates electric power, which is then sent to an ordinary electric powertrain built by Isuzu.

In fact, the whole vehicle—except for the roof-mounted hydrogen powertrain—is a rebadged Isuzu ERGA EV, which debuted in 2024, and Isuzu is now cashing in on the partnership by launching its own ERGA FCV variant.

Under the skin, there’s a pair of 110-kilowatt electric motors making a combined 295 horsepower and 715 pound-feet of torque. The motors draw power from an 88-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery that enables a driving range of over 186 miles (300 kilometers), which is roughly 50% more than the first-generation Sora bus that debuted in 2018. The fuel cell stack can deliver up to 113 kW of power.

The 471-liter tanks on the roof can be refilled in about ten minutes, but Toyota claims that future filling stations will be able to cut the refueling time in half. Just like the first-gen Toyota Sora, the new FCEV people hauler can export power from its high-voltage battery through an external power supply, transforming it into an emergency power source for disasters or other situations where the grid goes down for long periods of time.

Source link