Toyota Motor Corp.'s North American chief said California's plan for more than 50 hydrogen fuel stations within two years is making executives feel "bullish" about the outlook for its Camry-sized fuel cell car due in 2015.
Plans by the state to provide about $47 million for 28 new stations selling hydrogen for fuel cell cars, along with 10 already in operation and 16 more in development, will be enough to support at least 10,000 vehicles in California, Toyota's Jim Lentz said in a recent interview at a Fortune conference in Laguna Niguel, California. He declined to give a price or volume goal for the sedan Toyota is bringing to market.
"Just based on the product, based on the infrastructure we see that will be in place in California, we're much more bullish on fuel cell," Lentz said. "I'm more bullish on fuel cell than I was on EV. I think the cost of fuel cells is going to be substantially less than in an EV," he said, referring to electric vehicles.