Earlier today we told you about BMW’s effort in launching a new fuel cell vehicle in collaboration with Toyota. We told you that Toyota has a production-ready FCV all set for launch. Well, here it is. They have just announced the car’s official name, Toyota Mirai, and confirmed its market launch in early 2015.

Toyota Mirai FCV is a four-door sedan and save the unusual front-end design and even odder rear-end, it looks rather unremarkable. But if everything goes according to plan, the Mirai – meaning ‘future’ in Japanese – will have as big an impact on our car culture as the Prius in the early years of this century.

Toyota Mirai is the first real attempt at making a fully functional, ordinary family car powered by a hydrogen fuel cell system. But that is the easy part. Now Toyota has to work hard to establish a suitable infrastructure for hydrogen fuel pumps in the markets where the Mirai will be sold. That is, needless to say, an immensely tall order.

Transcript of Akio Toyoda’s Announcement Video

Today, we are at a turning point in automotive history.

A turning point where people will embrace a new, environmentally-friendly car that is a pleasure to drive. A turning point where a four-door sedan can travel 300 miles on a single tank of hydrogen, can be refuelled in under five minutes and emit only water vapour. A turning point that represents many years and countless hours of work by our team to create a car that redefines the industry.

All of us at Toyota believe in a future that will be safer, greener and easier for everyone.

We imagined a world filled with vehicles that would diminish our dependence on oil and reduce harm to the environment.It was a bold, but inspiring goal. And, today it is a reality. Our fuel cell vehicle runs on hydrogen that can be made from virtually anything, even garbage!

It has a fuel cell that creates enough electricity to power a house for about a week. This is a car that lets you have it all with no compromises. As a test driver, I knew this new fuel cell vehicle had to be truly fun to drive – and believe me, it is. It has a low centre of gravity, which gives it very dynamic handling. After surviving millions of miles on the test track and 10 years of testing on public roads in freezing cold and scorching heat… After passing extensive crash tests… And after working with local governments and researchers around the world to help make sure it is easy and convenient to refuel… We are ready to deliver.

The name we’ve given to our new car is Mirai, which in Japanese means ‘future’. We believe that behind the wheel of the Mirai, we can go places we have never been, to a world that is better, in a car that is better. For us, this isn’t just another car. This is an opportunity–an opportunity to really make a difference. And making a difference is what Toyota is all about.

The future has arrived. And it’s called Mirai.