The Nikkei reports that Toyota will invest about ¥20 billion yen ($165 million) to triple production capacity in Japan for its new Mirai fuel cell vehicle to meet what it describes as strong corporate and public-sector demand. The Mirai is due to go on sale in Japan 15 December; Toyota expects orders to exceed its current annual capacity of 700 units by the release date.

Toyota is also planing to begin sales in the US—especially in California—and Europe in the summer of 2015. The current sales plan is 400 Mirais in Japan by the end of 2015; 3,000 or more in the US by the end of 2017; and 50-100 units per year in Europe around 2016.

The new investment will boost output of fuel cell stacks and hydrogen tanks at the Toyota factory in Aichi Prefecture, adding two lines by the end of 2015. Equipment will also be upgraded at another Aichi site that handles vehicle assembly.

The Mirai uses the Toyota Fuel Cell System (TFCS), which features both fuel cell technology and hybrid technology, and includes proprietary Toyota-developed components including the fuel cell (FC) Stack, FC boost converter, and high-pressure hydrogen tanks. The TFCS is more energy-efficient than internal combustion engines and emits no CO2 or substances of concern (SOCs) when driven. The system accelerates Mirai from 0–60 in 9.0 seconds and delivers a passing time of 3 seconds from 25–40 mph.