Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell research, development (R&D), and production plant established in Beijing, China, has commenced operations. With accelerated investments in the industry, related facilities in China are expected to increase rapidly.
According to local media such as Caixin on the 22nd, Toyota China announced this the day before. The new plant covers an area of 113,000㎡, with an annual production capacity of 10,000 units. Toyota plans to expand its related capabilities through the operation of a second plant scheduled to open in 2026.
Previously, Toyota established the R&D corporation United Fuel Cell in June 2020 and the production corporation Huafeng Fuel Cell in 2021. For the R&D corporation, Toyota holds a 65% stake, and SinoHytec holds 15%. Additionally, FAW Group, Dongfeng Group, Guangzhou Automobile Group, and Beijing Automotive Group each hold a 5% stake. The production corporation is jointly owned by Toyota and SinoHytec, each holding 50% of the shares.
Toyota's global hydrogen electric vehicle sales in the first half of this year were 1,134 units, a 51.8% decrease compared to the same period last year. Of these, 451 units sold domestically increased by 115.8% year-on-year, while overseas sales dropped sharply by 68.1% to 683 units during the same period.
The Chinese government is encouraging the development of hydrogen electric commercial vehicles by announcing various support measures. In September 2020, instead of financial subsidies, it proposed rewards for demonstration applications to support hydrogen fuel cell technology development.
Among Korean companies, Hyundai Motor Group completed the ‘HTWO Guangzhou’ hydrogen fuel cell system production base in the Guangzhou Development Zone last year. The company mentioned an initial production capacity of 6,500 units per year.
Meanwhile, hydrogen electric vehicles have so far had minimal sales compared to pure electric vehicles. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, about 3,000 hydrogen electric vehicles were sold in China from January to July this year, a 25.5% increase compared to the same period last year. During the same period, domestic sales of pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles were approximately 3.57 million and 2.361 million units, respectively.
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