In a setback to advancing fuel-cell vehicle (FCV) technology, Toyota Motor on Tuesday said it would recall all six of its hydrogen-powered vehicles after it found a fuel tank leak in one of the cars, Reuters reported.

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According to the news agency, the car maker had begun leasing the million-dollar-plus cars to four Japanese government ministries and two California university campuses last December, becoming one of the world’s first car makers, along with Honda, to market the environmentally friendly vehicles.


Toyota told Reuters the leak occurred in the vehicle leased to Japan’s Environment Ministry while the high-pressure hydrogen tank was being refilled last Thursday. The tank was manufactured by a foreign parts maker, Toyota reportedly said, declining to identify the company.


A spokeswoman at Honda, which began leasing its FCVs in Japan and the United States on the same day as Toyota, told Reuters that no problems have been reported so far with its vehicles.


According to Reuters, Toyota said it would recall the six fuel cell cars, as well as postpone the lease of six more to two local governments and four private companies, including Tokyo Gas Co., scheduled for May 29.

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It said it would return the vehicles after investigating and fixing the problem, without specifying a timeframe, Reuters added.


“There is no precedent for this type of problem, so we expect the investigation to take some time,” a Toyota spokeswoman told Reuters.


Toyota had said it wanted to lease a total of about 20 FCVs in Japan and the United States by the end of the year, the news agency noted.