The test drive will be offered for up to a year from Nissan’s headquarters in Tokyo. In June, the high-pressure, hydrogen-powered model will be available for test driving every weekend. The schedule for the rest of the year will be announced at a later date.

Nissan will use the feedback generated from customer test drives, as well as data acquired through public-road testing in Japan and overseas, for its ongoing FCV development.

The X-TRAIL FCV is equipped with a Nissan-developed fuel cell stack that has a power generation capacity of 90kW giving the model a top speed of 150 km/h. The model also features a compact, 35MPa high-pressure hydrogen storage cylinder resulting in a cruising range of more than 370 km. The model was approved for public road testing by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in December 2005.

In addition to the public test drive in Tokyo, Nissan will also participate in several FCV-related events in Japan and abroad this June, including the Challenge Bibendum and the 16th World Hydrogen Energy Conference, both in France.

Nissan began full-scale development of FCV technology in 2001. In addition to the design and engineering work conducted in Japan, extensive testing and development has been conducted in other markets, most notably the US, where Nissan is a member of the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP). Nissan has developed an X-TRAIL FCV equipped with a 70MPa high-pressure hydrogen storage cylinder and a cruising range of more than 500 km that is currently being tested on roads in Canada.

FCVs are considered to be the most environmentally-friendly vehicles because they only emit water as a by-product.