Mazda will lease two RX-8 Hydrogen RE cars with dual hydrogen-petrol fuel system to two Japanese energy-related companies in late March.
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Kyodo News said Idemitsu Kosan and Iwatani International will be the first users of the car based on the RX-8 rotary engine sports car.
Another 10 hydrogen models will be leased to Hiroshima Prefecture, other local governments, and energy companies by the end of this year.
”This will give us a great advantage in a transitional period until hydrogen stations and other infrastructure is established,” Kenji Morimoto, chief researcher at the company’s technology research centre, told the news agency.
The monthly lease will be 420,000 yen, almost half of that of fuel-cell vehicles made by Toyota and Honda, Mazda said.
Using petrol and high-pressure hydrogen, the RX-8 Hydrogen RE can run for about 650 kilometres (370 miles) on one fill. The driver can switch between the two fuel systems.
The car emits no carbon dioxide when driving on hydrogen, the company said.
