This is because it reacts electro-chemically with oxygen in the fuel cell to yield water. Its chief rival, DaimlerChrysler, wants to produce such a car by 2004 and have 100,000 fuel-cell vehicles on the road by the following year. Honda, which is promising hybrid models powered by combined petrol and electrical motors as soon as next year, expects to produce small numbers of fuel-cell vehicles as early as 2003. GM executives say they are not worried about losing the race, only about having a vehicle with the best technology ready to launch later this decade. The danger of going into production too early is that within a year or two your competitors might bring something out which supersedes your model.
Timing is crucial.
All up, GM sold just 1,400 electric vehicles. Cost was the killer. However, the latest breakthroughs have made GM increasingly confident that a fuel-cell car can compete on price. Just how willingly consumers take to a new form of energy is another question. However, converting petrol products into hydrogen as an interim measure will at least give the car makers and oil companies time to convert consumers and establish hydrogen filling stations.