Toyota bets on hydrogen combustion for passenger cars — but is it really a world first?

Toyota has been testing hydrogen internal combustion engines (H2-ICE) in motorsport for years, using adapted versions of its GR Corolla and GR Yaris at Japan's Fuji Speedway. Now the move toward a consumer production model appears to be approaching. But the claim that Toyota will be "the first manufacturer" to do this deserves some context.

What Toyota is aiming for

Toyota is developing a passenger car powered by a hydrogen combustion engine — a technology in which hydrogen is burned directly in a modified petrol engine, rather than converted to electricity via a fuel cell. The appeal: zero CO₂ at the point of use, while retaining the driving feel and engine sound of a conventional car.

In practice, Toyota has been racing a 1.6-litre three-cylinder engine — the same base unit as in the GR Yaris — in competition cars for several years. A road-going prototype based on the Corolla Cross H2 Concept has also been evaluated. However, no confirmed production date for consumer sale has been announced.

Who was there first?

The "first" claim only holds with one crucial caveat: first with a mass-market consumer passenger car. In other segments, others are well ahead:

• JCB (construction machinery): The British manufacturer has already produced more than 120 hydrogen combustion engines and received commercial approval from eleven European authorities in January 2025. JCB's H2-ICE is already operating on construction sites and has been installed in a Mercedes truck — making it commercially active.
• Cummins (trucks and buses): Through the UK's 'Project Brunel', Cummins delivered a working 6.7-litre H2-ICE for medium-duty transport, developed with Johnson Matthey and PHINIA. The design is scalable to heavier applications.
• KEYOU (trucks): The Munich-based specialist builds H2 combustion engines for commercial vehicles and successfully tested a 12-cylinder system in a large Komatsu dump truck in 2025.

- BMW: Is collaborating with Toyota on a third-generation fuel cell system for passenger cars, targeting a launch in 2028 — though BMW is pursuing fuel cell (FCEV) technology, not combustion.

So what does make Toyota's approach distinctive?

Toyota would be the first major carmaker to take the hydrogen combustion engine beyond prototypes and motorsport, and push it toward a consumer production model sold through dealerships. Where JCB, Cummins and Keyou focus on construction, industry and heavy transport, Toyota is targeting everyday road users.

Infrastructure remains the central challenge: public hydrogen refuelling stations for passenger cars are scarce, and the cost of green hydrogen remains high — around €17 per kilogram in the Netherlands.

Conclusion

Toyota can legitimately claim a pioneering role in bringing hydrogen combustion to consumer passenger cars. But the broader "world first" framing overlooks a rich tradition of H2-ICE development already underway in the industrial and transport sectors. The true novelty lies in the segment and the customer — not in the technology itself.

Sources:

• Toyota Global Newsroom – Hydrogen Engine Development via Motorsports (2021, 2025)
• JCB Hydrogen Solutions – H2ICE European certification (January 2025)
• Cummins – Project Brunel H2-ICE for medium-duty transport (March 2025)
• KEYOU / Komatsu – 12-cylinder H2 dump truck (March 2025)
• AutoReview.nl – Toyota Corolla hydrogen (October 2025)
• AutoGids.be – Toyota 3rd Gen fuel cell system (February 2025)