Toyota Mirai Trials Have Finally Begun And Here’s Everything About It

SAUDI ARABIA : Trials for the Toyota Mirai, a car that is a fully hydrogen-powered vehicle, have finally begun. Ever since the car’s development rumors have been public, people have been very excited to see what it will be like. 

• Abdul Latif Jameel Motors and AHG have signed an MoU, under which the trials are being conducted
• This will also be used to see how viable Hydrogen is, as an alternative fuel source 
• If successful, this will help Saudi Arabia’s carbon neutrality goal 

Toyota Mirai Trials Begin!

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has launched a seven-day pilot study for the Toyota Mirai, a hydrogen-powered Fuel cell electric vehicle, FCEV, as part of a taxi fleet in Jeddah. This was announced on October 20 and led by Saudi Transport Authority (TGA), Abdullah Hashim Industrial Gases & Equipment (AHG), and Abdul Latif Jameel Motors, the distributor of Toyota vehicles in Saudi Arabia. 

It aims to assess hydrogen's potential to become a viable source of zero-emission fuel for public transport in the Kingdom's step toward meeting Saudi Arabian ambitions to establish environmentally friendly and sustainable modes of transportation.

Partnership Between Abdul Latif and AHG

This groundbreaking trial forms part of a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Abdul Latif Jameel Motors and AHG, setting the stage for deeper collaborations to advance carbon-neutral transport solutions within the Kingdom. 

This partnership draws strength from Toyota Motor Corporation’s world-renowned technical expertise in hydrogen-powered mobility and underscores Saudi Arabia’s intent to pioneer alternative fuel solutions. 

The MoU signing ceremony was held in Jeddah and was attended by key stakeholders, including Mazin Ghazi Jameel, Managing Director of Toyota Marketing Operations at Abdul Latif Jameel Motors, Eng. Fawaz Al-Sahli, Deputy President of the Saudi Transport Authority, and Omar Bin Hashim Al-Jafri, General Manager of Abdullah Hashim Industrial Gases & Equipment. 

This collaboration underscores the dedication of all parties involved to explore alternative transport solutions that could shape the Kingdom's automotive landscape in the years to come.

Carbon Neutrality Goal

The trial of Toyota Mirai closely aligns with the Vision 2030 of Saudi Arabia, a transformative agenda that puts great emphasis on sustainability and economic diversification as core national priorities. For this trial, the Toyota Mirai will be used and tested on the public roads of Jeddah to collect extensive data about the performance of the vehicle.

If compared against similar-sized and used traditional combustion-engine vehicles, the key factors under observation that are included are fuel efficiency, driving range, refueling duration, and in general, the relative decrease of CO₂ emissions.

The insights gained from this pilot will be very valuable and will directly inform future decisions related to the deployment of hydrogen-powered zero-emission vehicles within the public transport system in Saudi Arabia. This is more than just a step toward carbon neutrality; it will also help serve the overall strategy of introducing superior, clean technologies into its transport sector.