Mexican Media Brands
BMW Readies Low-Volume X5 Fuel Cell Model
BMW AG plans to introduce a fuel cell-powered version of the X5 SUV/crossover vehicle early next decade, development chief Klaus Frolich tells Forbes.
#hybrid
Share
BMW AG plans to introduce a fuel cell-powered version of the X5 SUV/crossover vehicle early next decade, development chief Klaus Frolich tells Forbes.
The vehicles initially will be sold in small volumes as part of a pilot program in unspecified markets.
Frohlich doesn’t anticipate BMW mass-producing a fuel cell vehicle until at least 2025. He says the costs of fuel cell stacks should drop from about €80,000 ($90,000) to €10,000 ($11,000) by then.
BMW has been working on fuel cell systems for about 20 years. The X5 fuel cell model will use technology developed under a 7-year-old partnership with Toyota Motor Corp.
Currently, the only carmakers to offer fuel cell vehicles are Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota. Audi and General Motors also are developing the technology, which can provide longer driving ranges than full electric vehicles.
In addition to high costs, the lack of a hydrogen infrastructure has prevented wider adoption of fuel cell vehicles.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Things to Know About Cam Grinding
By James Gaffney, Product Engineer, Precision Grinding and Patrick D. Redington, Manager, Precision Grinding Business Unit, Norton Company (Worcester, MA)
-
Operator of Uber Self-Driving Car Wasn't Watching Before Fatal Crash
In-car video shows that the backup pilot of an Uber Technologies self-driving car was not watching the road just before the vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian last Sunday night.
-
Cobots: 14 Things You Need to Know
What jobs do cobots do well? How is a cobot programmed? What’s the ROI? We asked these questions and more to four of the leading suppliers of cobots.
