BMW Group is now ready to start production of its first hydrogen cell car by 2028. The first prototypes of cars with their third-generation hydrogen drive system are being built in Munich and Steyr.
BMW’s third-generation hydrogen cell system is 25% smaller than the previous generation and at the same time offers higher energy density. The hybrid system can also be integrated with future architectures allowing BMW to offer vehicles with a variety of power pack options to customers.
The components used have also been upgraded with higher efficiency. Although the drive system is developed in-house by BMW, the hydrogen cell used is developed by Toyota using specifications developed by BMW itself.
BMW has been tinkering with hydrogen cell vehicles since 2014 with the BMW 535iA which uses a Toyota powertrain. Subsequently, the BMW iX5 Hydrogen is being developed as a second-generation hydrogen vehicle and is only a pilot project that has not yet been offered to the open market.
Toyota is a company that has made a large investment in the development of hydrogen cells because they believe it has a better future than batteries. The world's largest automobile company has been offering the Mirai model for the past few years, with it also being tested in Sarawak as an effort to make it a hydrogen technology hub in the Southeast Asian region.