Within a few days after announcing a pilot project of testing the Toyota Mirai in India, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari was spotted arriving in the parliament in the hydrogen-powered car. The white-coloured Toyota Mirai carrying Gadkari to the parliament house was accompanied by his security personnel in other vehicles.
The Toyota Mirai, which was carrying the Union Minister, is the same car that is registered and used by Toyota in India for the pilot project for testing the feasibility of hydrogen-powered vehicles in India. It had body graphics on the co-driver side door, which state ‘powered by hydrogen’. On arriving at the parliament, Gadkari found himself surrounded by many journalists and cameramen who seemed to be amazed by the aura of the Toyota Mirai.
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Toyota Mirai in India for a pilot project
Commenting on the new pilot project carried out by Toyota and Central Government, Nitin Gadkari said that to accomplish the dream of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India), we all have to become self-reliant as well. One of the ways with which it is possible to develop vehicles running on alternative fuel options, out of which one is hydrogen.
While speaking to the press, Gadkari elaborated on the techniques, through which hydrogen can be created as a fuel for vehicles. He also compared the running costs of a hydrogen-powered car with those of an electric vehicle – while an EV costs Re 1/km, a hydrogen-powered car costs Rs 1.5-2/km to operate.
Govt is promoting alternate fuel options
The government wants to develop pollution-free green hydrogen as an alternative fuel for vehicles in the future, for which the Toyota Mirai is used as the model for the pilot project. With this car, the government is studying the feasibility of the generation of hydrogen as a fuel, based on which hydrogen-filling stations will be established throughout the country. Gadkari feels that hydrogen-powered vehicles are the future of mobility in the country, along with electric vehicles, because of which cars like Toyota Mirai will arrive in the Indian car market very soon.
While Gadkari refrained from talking about the cost of Toyota Mirai or hydrogen as a fuel for the moment, he has already requested the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Hardeep Singh Puri, to produce hydrogen using recycled water from sewage.
If the development and arrival of hydrogen-powered vehicles happen anytime sooner, the Toyota Mirai might get the first-mover advantage in India. This car gets a 4JM fuel-cell powertrain, which is paired to a 1.2 kWh lithium-ion battery and produce185 PS of maximum power and 300 Nm of maximum torque.
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The post Nitin Gadkari’s latest ride is a Toyota Mirai Hydrogen car: Arrives in parliament [Video] first appeared on Cartoq.
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