Chinese automaker Geely has launched a hydrogen fuel cell bus, according to an announcement posted to its official WeChat channel on Thursday.
The F12 bus consumes 7.5 kilograms of hydrogen to to travel 100 kilometers, the company said, adding that such a fully fueled bus can run for a full day without refueling. Geely said that it developed the F12 with the Chinese government’s support for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
Experts expected China to put 10,000 fuel cell vehicles on road by 2020, along with 100 hydrogen stations. In March, the government slashed state subsidizes for pure electric vehicles by 50%, but only trimmed 20% of subsidizes for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
A total of 273 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles were sold in China in the first quarter of this year, according to Chinese media outlet Yicai, citing data compiled by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. At the end of 2018, there were only 24 hydrogen stations in the country. Most were used for demonstrative purposes and not put into commercial operation.
The first ever fuel cell car for consumer usage was developed by Honda in 2007. Mercedes-Benz followed suit three years later, and then Hyundai in 2013. Toyota followed by unveiling its Mirai mid-sized sedan, which has a maximum range of 502 kilometers, in November the following year. The Mirai’s total global sales since 2014 numbers in the thousands. More than half of its sales were in the United Sales, with a small number shipped to Europe. The rest were bought by Japanese consumers.
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