Two automotive giants join forces

Author | Zhou Zhiyu

The rapid development of new energy vehicles is overturning the traditional automotive industry at a pace beyond expectations; the marketing offensives of new forces are also influencing consumers' minds, to the extent that many consumers now equate electric vehicles with new energy vehicles.

BMW and Toyota are looking for another answer. On September 5th, the BMW Group announced that it will launch its first mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCEV) for the market in 2028.

Compared to the previously announced timetable by BMW (launch in 2030), it is evident that the progress of BMW and Toyota's cooperation is much smoother than expected. These two global automotive giants are working together to make hydrogen technology evolve from an emerging technology to a cost-effective and convenient technology.

BMW Group Chairman Zipse excitedly stated that BMW is the world's first high-end automaker to launch the first mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, which represents an important milestone in the automotive industry. BMW also foresees a significant increase in demand for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the future market.

Just three days ago, the BMW Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Toyota Motor Corporation on comprehensive cooperation in hydrogen fuel cell technology to seek to reduce the overall cost of hydrogen fuel cell technology through collaboration. In this cooperation, Toyota will provide BMW with hydrogen tanks for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, as well as major related components such as fuel cells powered by hydrogen; technical aspects such as drive systems, and future car products will be led by BMW.

In fact, Toyota and BMW have been cooperating on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles since 2011, but at that time, Toyota only provided the "battery cells" for hydrogen fuel cells, while hydrogen tanks and drive systems were independently developed by BMW.

In terms of technology development, both BMW and Toyota have their own strengths. Toyota's research and development focus on hydrogen fuel cells, while BMW emphasizes system integration and optimization to ensure the driving experience of the entire vehicle.

Therefore, from this cooperation, it can be seen that both BMW and Toyota hope to further leverage their respective advantages in their fields to accelerate the mass production and popularization of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as much as possible.

Wall Street News also understands that the current cooperation between the two parties mainly focuses on hydrogen fuel cell technology, while the vehicle models are still being developed independently.

BMW already has relatively mature products. Since March last year, the BMW iX5 Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle has been globally showcased and tested.

According to BMW's data, the BMW iX5 Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle has a maximum output power of up to 295 kilowatts (401 horsepower), accelerates from 0 to 100 kilometers in 6 seconds; under WLTP conditions, the BMW iX5 Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle can achieve a maximum range of 504 kilometers, and it only takes 3-4 minutes to fill the hydrogen tank.

This makes hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, like gasoline vehicles, have the characteristic of fast refueling, and in terms of performance and environmental friendliness, they even surpass electric vehicles. This is already a mature and commercially viable technology.

BMW has further optimized the details of the iX5 Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, such as improving the vehicle structure, so that the space issue that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have always been criticized for can be similar to BMW's hybrid and electric vehicle models The challenge lies in how to further reduce costs, enabling hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to be mass-produced, and allowing more users to use and recognize hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Previously, a Toyota hydrogen fuel cell technology expert told Wall Street News that the slow promotion of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is mainly due to the high usage cost and slow construction of hydrogen refueling stations, with the number of refueling stations being significantly lower than that of charging stations.

Taking the more widely used hydrogen fuel cell commercial vehicles as an example, the total lifecycle cost of a similarly sized diesel heavy truck is about 20% lower than that of a hydrogen-powered heavy truck. With several Chinese cities announcing toll-free highways for hydrogen vehicles, hydrogen-powered heavy trucks have a relative economic advantage.

However, BMW believes that China has clearly stated that hydrogen will be an important part of the future national energy system, and the development of the hydrogen industry is showing a positive trend. While continuing to advance technological research and development, BMW Brilliance has also been actively exploring the application scenarios of hydrogen energy in the logistics field.

Companies like Sinopec plan to build 1,000 hydrogen refueling stations during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, and energy companies such as PetroChina also have related plans. Subsequent issues in the replenishment process are expected to be alleviated.

As for the cost issue, after adopting Toyota's hydrogen system to control costs, BMW will be able to make hydrogen fuel cell vehicles more affordable for consumers in the coming years. Currently, hydrogen fuel cell models from Toyota, Hyundai, and other automakers enter China in imported form, with landing costs exceeding 1 million RMB due to taxes and administrative fees.

Juergen Guldner, Head of BMW Group's Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology and Automotive Projects, predicts that in the next decade, cost parity between FCEVs and battery electric vehicles is absolutely possible.

As a result, BMW's research and development of hydrogen power systems and hydrogen fuel cell technology over the past few decades have ushered in a period of accelerated development with the right timing, location, and people.

In BMW's plans, BMW's new generation of models also includes hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, with hydrogen fuel drive becoming the fourth pillar of BMW's product portfolio. Of course, for BMW, this is advantageous for it to continue leveraging its strengths in power systems.

Zipse also emphasizes that hydrogen fuel cell and pure battery drive technologies can complement each other perfectly, with hydrogen energy filling the gap in achieving zero-emission travel.

The collaboration between BMW and Toyota, two automotive giants, signifies a new development stage for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. BMW also leaves a valuable trump card for future development. The current boom in electric vehicles is just the beginning of the development of new energy vehicles, with more possibilities waiting to be explored by industry players in the future