Toyota invites PM to test drive the future

Toyota has invited leading federal and state politicians, including Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, to take a ride in the car of the future - its hydrogen-powered Mirai.

The Mirai is a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, technology the company believes has the potential to replace both internal combustion engines and hybrids in the future. Not only can the hydrogen to power the car be produced from renewable sources, it can also be refuelled from a filling station in only a few minutes; like a petrol-powered car.

The Japanese giant has already begun selling the Mirai in Japan and will soon offer it in the USA and Europe. But Australian sales won't start until refuelling infrastructure is in place, which is why the company is courting politicians for support.

Toyota says it is willing to work with all levels of government and its fellow car makers to begin rolling out a hydrogen refuelling network.

It is predicting that it will be led by the commercial sector, with organisations running fleets from a central depot - where a hydrogen refuelling station can be built - will be the first step in the process.

"Hydrogen is a promising alternative fuel for the future and the Mirai is the exciting technology that Toyota is offering globally," explained Toyota Australia president, Dave Buttner.

"Of course, we acknowledge that we are a fair way off being in a position to introduce this technology in Australia as we first need the relevant infrastructure.

"However, with a well-developed implementation plan towards the future, we believe this vision would be an ideal way to introduce Australia to this exciting new technology and pave the way for the eventual roll out to the private sector."

The cost of installing a hydrogen refuelling station isn't cheap however, with Toyota revealing each one costs between $1.2-2.3 million.

Hyundai has already installed a hydrogen station at its Sydney head office and announced it will support plans to roll out more stations as more commercially available fuel cell vehicles become available on the market.