On the eve of the closing of the Paris Motor Show, CA Consumer Finance and Hopium "signed a memorandum of understanding for a provisional order of 10,000 vehicles, whose production is planned from 2025".
"Agilauto, a brand specializing in automotive sales and financing from the Crédit Agricole group in France, will offer the hydrogen sedan from the French manufacturer Hopium as part of programs intended for its private or professional customers", adds the press release.
Still in prototype stage, the Hopium Machina is a sporty fuel cell sedan.
It should be offered around 120,000 euros and promises a range of 1,000 kilometers, for a power of 500 horsepower and a weight under two tons.
It would be the first non-utility hydrogen vehicle produced in France.
This memorandum of understanding "makes it possible to strengthen the commercial strategy with a provisional order of up to 1.2 billion euros", welcomed Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, chairman of the board of directors of Hopium, and former minister of Transport, quoted in the press release.
The French start-up announced at the end of September its intention to open a factory and a research center by early 2025 in Normandy, near Vernon (Eure) where it could employ up to 1,500 people.
Hydrogen used as fuel has the advantage of emitting only water vapour, which makes it an important avenue for replacing hydrocarbons, integrated into many recovery plans around the world.
But experts and industrialists are divided on the place of hydrogen in the decarbonization of the automotive sector: development is for the moment essentially dedicated to utilities and heavy goods vehicles, which can carry bulky hydrogen canisters.
Moreover, the production of hydrogen gas is very energy-intensive and still largely dependent on fossil fuels, pending the development of so-called "green" hydrogen, from renewable energies.
The lack of distribution stations is also a brake on its development.
© 2022 AFP