Named “Mirai”, which means future in Japanese, the four-door sedan is due next summer and is said to bring the cruising range of a conventional saloon – offering 300 miles on a single tank of hydrogen – whilst being able to be refuelled in less than five minutes and only emitting water vapour.

In his presentation (see video here) Akio Toyoda said: ‘Our fuel cell vehicle runs on hydrogen that can be made from virtually anything, even garbage! It has a fuel cell that creates enough electricity to power a house for about a week.

‘This is a car that lets you have it all with no compromises.’

He added: ‘As a test driver, I knew this new fuel cell vehicle had to be truly fun to drive – and believe me, it is. It has a low centre of gravity, which gives it very dynamic handling.’

The announcement comes in advance of the Mirai’s official launch in Japan tomorrow, with Honda having also shown its latest iteration of its FCV hydrogen fuel cell model today.