Introduced by Toyota as a hydrogen fuel-cell sedan, this nameplate marked the company’s move to mass-produced fuel-cell vehicles. Toyota unveiled the vehicle in late 2014, launched it first in Japan, and brought it to the U.S. market as a 2016 model year vehicle. The name means “future” in Japanese, fitting its role as a technology flagship rather than a conventional mainstream sedan.
The original generation established the model’s identity with a four-door body, rear-seat sedan packaging, and Toyota’s early production fuel-cell system. In North America, Toyota positioned it as a limited but important production vehicle and the first fuel-cell electric vehicle offered for retail sale there. That made it a milestone car for hydrogen mobility, even though it remained a niche product because of infrastructure limitations.
Toyota fully redesigned the nameplate for the 2021 model year, giving it a more upscale, rear-wheel-drive architecture and a more expressive grand-touring sedan character. The second generation broadened the car’s mission beyond simply proving fuel-cell technology, adding a stronger emphasis on design, refinement, and everyday usability while continuing to showcase Toyota’s hydrogen strategy.
As a result, this nameplate has become one of Toyota’s most significant modern alternative-fuel vehicles: a long-running, technically important sedan that has helped define the brand’s fuel-cell efforts from its launch through its current production run.