A fleet of 27 hydrogen fuel cell Toyota Mirai cars operated by Green Tomato Cars has driven a milestone one million zero-emission miles in and around London. Each Mirai has saved the equivalent of 7.6 tonnes of CO2 over this distance and emitted zero NOx emissions. This contrasts with average new car UK emissions of 120.1g/Km.
This UK first has largely been achieved in the 18 months since the private hire company took on 25 Mirai after starting a trial with two cars in 2015. Building on this success, Green Tomato Cars has added a further 25 Mirai to its fleet this month, giving it the largest zero-emission passenger fleet in the UK.
The Mirai is the flagship of the company’s Zero Emission Executive service, serving 2,000 corporate clients. Green Tomato Cars was the first company of its kind in Europe to take on hydrogen fuel cell cars and has carried 80,000 passengers in Toyota’s ground-breaking fuel cell EV. Each car drives an average of 120 miles per day, with average fare-paying journeys of eight to ten miles.
Jonny Goldstone, founder and CEO of Green Tomato Cars, said: “We’ve been really impressed by the performance of our Mirai fleet and are very proud to have clocked up the magic one million zero-emission miles in these unique cars. Our passengers love them because it means they can travel as responsibly as possible, and so do our drivers. Running costs are comparable with a Prius and re-fuelling takes the same time as a conventional petrol car. We’re rolling out the next 25 Mirai on to our fleet right now and hopefully there will be still more to come.”
There are currently 137 Toyota Mirai on the road in the UK and combined they will soon break the two-million-mile mark, which will save approximately 412 tons of CO2, emitting only harmless pure water.
Currently, there are eleven hydrogen fuelling stations in the UK, where hydrogen is produced on-site by electrolysis from water. ITM Power, the largest operator of these, will be opening a new station at Gatwick shortly.
The Mirai has proved particularly attractive to business leaders wanting to do their part in starting an energy revolution to protect the environment. In addition to Green Tomato Cars, the Metropolitan Police has 21 cars, which have covered over a quarter of a million miles, and in Aberdeen there are 32 Mirai operated by users including the County and City Councils and the Co-Wheels Car Club. The innovative fuel cell cars have also been taken on by educational establishments such as University College London and Imperial College, by museums, including the Natural History Museum and Science Museum, and by organisations such as Transport for London and JCB.
Toyota has just announced the reveal of the next-generation Mirai concept (above) at the Tokyo Motor Show next week. The new Mirai will be introduced towards the end of 2020, benefiting from a dramatic redesign, a Toyota New Global Architecture platform and improvements to its fuel cell system to achieve better dynamic performance and an even greater driving range.
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