Toyota has pulled the plug on electric vehicles with the death, this year, of the RAV4 EV but has released images of its new 2015 Fuel Cell Sedan.

TOYOTA TODAY revealed the exterior design of its hydrogen-powered Fuel Cell Sedan, following the car’s reveal in concept form at last year’s Tokyo motor show.

The four-door sedan will be introduced first in Japan (in early 2015) and is part of Toyota’s commitment to build more environmentally-friendly vehicles, or so the press release says.

According to Toyota, “hydrogen has great potential as an alternative fuel. It can be produced from a wide variety of primary energy sources, including solar and wind power; it is easy to store and transport; and when compressed, it has a higher energy density than batteries. It could also be used in a much wider range of applications beyond automotive and domestic use, including large-scale power generation.

“Toyota has been developing fuel cell vehicles in-house for more than 20 years. Its system includes a proprietary FC Stack, which generates electricity from the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, and high-pressure hydrogen tanks. The technology was featured in the Toyota FCHV (fuel cell hybrid vehicle), an SUV which was leased to customers on a limited basis in Japan and the USA from 2002.

“Since then, Toyota has significantly improved its FC system. The Fuel Cell Sedan revealed today, for example, delivers performance and a cruising range similar to that of a petrol-engined vehicle, and refuelling takes roughly three minutes. When driven, the car’s only tailpipe emission is water vapour, produced by the chemical reaction between the hydrogen and oxygen,” the press release says.

Karl Schlicht, Executive Vice President Toyota Motor Europe, said: “We are very excited by the arrival of fuel cell technology. Of course there are many challenges ahead, such as the availability of fuelling infrastructure and customer awareness. But our history with hybrid gives us all the experience we need to bring a new technology to the market.

Toyota recently announced it would pull-back from producing all-electric vehicles after its EV battery partner, Tesla Motors, said its relationship with Toyota would end in 2014 to coincide with the 2015 launch of the Fuel Cell Sedan revealed here. Tesla provided the battery packs for the Toyota RAV4 EV.