Isuzu and Toyota team up on next-gen hydrogen fuel cell bus, production from 2026
Isuzu and Toyota have agreed a new collaboration to build a next-generation hydrogen fuel cell route bus, with production due to begin in 2026 at J-Bus’s Utsunomiya plant in Tochigi Prefecture.
The model will be based on Isuzu’s flat-floor battery electric bus platform – launched with Toyota’s truck subsidiary Hino in 2024 – but will swap the batteries for a Toyota-developed fuel cell system.
By sharing components between BEVs (battery electric vehicles) and FCEVs (fuel cell electric vehicles), the companies say they’ll cut costs and speed up commercial rollout.
From battery to fuel cell
J-Bus, the equal joint venture between Isuzu and Hino, has been building buses since 2002 and will take on the manufacturing.
The FCEV version is intended to widen the zero-emission line-up beyond battery-electric, with hydrogen offering the faster refuelling and longer range the firms argue operators need on heavy-use routes.
Linking up with local rollouts
Toyota and Isuzu said they will work with local governments and operators in regions designated by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry as “Priority Regions” for fuel-cell commercial vehicles.
The aim is to accelerate deployment and help bus fleets cut CO₂ emissions without compromising operational flexibility.
Toyota’s hydrogen push continues
Toyota remains committed to what it calls its “multi-pathway approach” to powertrains – where hydrogen sits alongside batteries, hybrids and combustion engines.
The company is already supplying fuel cell systems to cars, trucks, buses and stationary units, and now has a new bus programme to add to the list.
