Volkswagen Debuts Fuel-Cell Concept Car at 2014 L.A. Auto Show

Fuel-cell vehicles have recaptured the alternative-fuel spotlight from electric and plug-in hybrids of late, and Volkswagen is the latest automaker to show its vision for a fuel-cell car with the debut of the Golf SportWagen HyMotion concept at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show.

Related: More 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show Coverage

It’s a vision that may look very familiar to you, as the Golf SportWagen HyMotion is based on the new Golf SportWagen production car and has very few styling differences. It’s a significantly different approach than Toyota is taking with its futuristic-looking Mirai fuel-cell car, which goes on sale in California late next year, but Volkswagen says its strategy is to put alternative-fuel drivetrains in high-volume models like the Golf family.

In this case, the alternative-fuel drivetrain is a fuel-cell system engineered by Volkswagen. The fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity that drives an electric motor. The electric motor is related to the one in Volkswagen’s all-electric e-Golf production car, and four carbon-fiber hydrogen tanks located in the floor of the car give the Golf SportWagen HyMotion an estimated range of 310 miles and a refueling time of about three minutes.

The technology in the Golf SportWagen HyMotion is actually already on the road; Volkswagen has a small group of fuel-cell-powered Passat sedans in a California test fleet, a state that’s developing the infrastructure needed to support the refueling of fuel-cell cars. Hydrogen availability remains extremely limited across much of the U.S., however, and until that changes, widespread adoption of fuel-cell vehicles seems just as distant as ever.

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