Our recent achievements suggest that intermediate temperature (IT) solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) can become a strong competitor not only for stationary power generation, but also for tractionary applications, e.g. for electrical (hybrid) vehicles. These ITSOFCs are based on ceria-salt composite ceramic materials. These new ceria-based composite ceramic materials have shown a super ionic conductivity (0.1-1.0 S cm(-1)) in the IT region (400-600 degreesC). Using them as the electrolytes the ITSOFCs are operated between 300 and 1500 mA cm(-2) (200-700 mW cm(-2)) continuously between 400 and 600 degreesC. The opportunities and advantages of these new advanced ITSOFCs for electrical vehicle applications are discussed. The high efficiency ITSOFCs fed directly with hydrocarbon containing gas-type and liquid-type fuels have shown an enormous potential for application in electrical vehicles. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.