BERLIN (Kyodo) Major automakers around the world, including Toyota Motor Corp. and Daimler AG, aim to mass-produce electric vehicles with fuel cells from 2015, according to a joint statement issued Wednesday.
The automakers called for the establishment of hydrogen infrastructure such as refueling stations in Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea to ensure a successful introduction of such vehicles.
"The signing automobile manufacturers strongly anticipate that from 2015 onwards a quite significant number of electric vehicles with fuel cells could be commercialized," they said in the statement.
The automakers also include Ford Motor Co., the group of General Motors Co. and its German-based Opel unit, Honda Motor Co., Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp., and the alliance of Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co.
The automakers announced the initiatives in the belief that cars need to be made safer for the environment as growing car ownership worldwide is expected to result in the release of more global warming gases, industry analysts say.
Fuel-cell vehicles are powered by electricity generated by the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in the air. Since they emit no greenhouse gases, they are considered to be the cleanest means of road transportation.
The development of such vehicles, however, is difficult partly because of high manufacturing costs.