At IAA Transportation 2026 in Hannover, Toyota Motor Europe has set out the next stage of its hydrogen plan, built around a third-generation fuel cell system aimed squarely at commercial vehicles. Scania will use the system in 40 heavy-duty trucks from the first quarter of 2027, while IVECO is fitting it to a long-haul tractor unit designed for more than 900 km (559 miles) between fills. Toyota is also buying into cellcentric alongside the Volvo Group and Daimler Truck, giving it a direct stake in one of Europe’s largest fuel cell ventures.

Toyota has used IAA Transportation 2026 in Hannover to shift its hydrogen story away from passenger cars and towards trucks. The company says hydrogen suits duty cycles where long range, high utilisation, fast refuelling, payload and operational flexibility matter most — precisely the conditions heavy-duty operators work under, with little time for vehicles to sit still.

A third-generation system built for commercial use

The centrepiece is Toyota’s third-generation fuel cell system, developed specifically for commercial applications rather than adapted from a car. According to the manufacturer, it delivers twice the output and twice the durability of the previous generation, along with 20% better fuel efficiency and a significantly lower cost, all with zero tailpipe emissions. Toyota frames that combination as bringing fuel cell trucks closer to what diesel fleets currently expect on performance and running costs — a claim that the coming pilot fleets are meant to test.

Scania takes 40 trucks

The most concrete deployment is with Scania. Toyota will supply third-generation systems for 40 heavy-duty vehicles in Scania’s Pilot Partner programme, using a 300 kW (402 hp) fuel cell system in a compact package intended for heavy-duty and other applications. The first trucks are expected to enter service in the first quarter of 2027, gathering real-world data on performance, operational efficiency and total cost of ownership on demanding long-distance, high-utilisation routes.

That ordering of priorities is telling: for fleet buyers, total cost of ownership decides the purchase long before headline output does.

IVECO targets more than 900 km

A second partnership runs through EMPOWER, the EU-funded Horizon Europe project for zero-emission heavy transport. Toyota supplies the fuel cell system while IVECO leads vehicle development, integration and validation. The resulting IVECO S-eWay Fuel Cell uses Toyota systems with a combined output of 300 kW (402 hp) and is designed for a driving range beyond 900 km (559 miles) and durability of more than 25,000 operating hours. Validation begins in the fourth quarter of 2026, with on-road trials planned for the first half of 2027.

From the Dakar to the filling station

Toyota has used motorsport to develop hydrogen combustion engines since 2017, and it is extending that to fuel cells. Toyota GAZOO Racing plans to enter a fuel cell Hilux in the Dakar Rally’s Future Mission 1000 category in 2027, with a Hilux Fuel Cell road model set for launch in 2028, targeting a range of more than 400 km (249 miles) and towing capacity of up to 2.5 tonnes.

Toyota is equally clear that vehicles alone will not scale hydrogen. It argues that infrastructure, hydrogen supply, customer demand and policy have to advance together as local ecosystems that later link into wider networks, pointing to activity in Germany and the Netherlands and to the EU’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation as examples of that alignment.

What it means

The cellcentric deal gives the strategy weight. In July this year, the Volvo Group, Daimler Truck AG, cellcentric and Toyota Motor Corporation signed a binding agreement for Toyota to join cellcentric as an equal partner and shareholder, with the stated aim of strengthening cellcentric’s position in fuel cell systems for heavy-duty use. The transaction still requires regulatory approval. If it clears, three of the largest truck manufacturing groups in the world will be developing heavy-duty fuel cells through the same company — a consolidation that says as much about the cost of going it alone as it does about confidence in hydrogen.

Facts: Toyota third-generation fuel cell system

  • Output in Scania and IVECO applications: 300 kW (402 hp)
  • Versus previous generation: twice the output, twice the durability, 20% better fuel efficiency, significantly lower cost (manufacturer figures)
  • Scania: 40 heavy-duty vehicles, first trucks operating in Q1 2027
  • IVECO S-eWay Fuel Cell: range beyond 900 km (559 miles), durability of more than 25,000 operating hours
  • IVECO timeline: validation from Q4 2026, on-road trials in H1 2027
  • Hilux Fuel Cell (2028): targeted range of more than 400 km (249 miles), towing up to 2.5 tonnes

The first Scania pilot trucks are due to begin operating in the first quarter of 2027, with IVECO’s on-road trials following in the first half of the same year.

Source: newsroom.toyota.eu