Want a brand-new Toyota for about $12,000? If you can lock in a steady supply of hydrogen, you can buy a ’23 Mirai for about the same price as a ’16 Honda Odyssey minivan with 152,000 miles, according to AutoTrader listings.
Toyota has issued a clear-out $40,000 sales incentive to dealers on the second-generation Mirai, which retails for about $52,000.
The move comes after Shell Hydrogen said it will no longer be operating some of its hydrogen light-duty passenger fueling stations in California due to supply complications, closing seven of its 55 locations.
The Mirai is only sold in California and only a handful of California Toyota dealerships sell the FCVs. There are only about two dozen ’23 vehicles in dealer inventory.
All new Mirais include $15,000 in complimentary fuel. Buyers get up to six years to use the credit. If buyers can get one at this price, and access hydrogen, it becomes essentially free driving for a few years.
With the battery-electric-vehicle category facing a slowdown in consumer demand in part due to under-developed public charging infrastructure, hydrogen fuel-cell personal-use vehicles, with no real, stable fueling infrastructure stand little chance of catching on, or meriting much in the way of capital investment by automakers.
The U.S. government and private industry, however, are investing more than $60 billion in hydrogen refueling infrastructure and technology, but for heavy-duty trucks and stationary power.
The U.S. is trying to largely eliminate diesel fuel by 2040 through clean-air regulations. And truck makers like Freightliner, Volvo and Daimler Trucks are speeding fuel-cell-powered heavy trucks to market, with several tests going on now in Texas, as well as in Europe.
Unlike the need for handy hydrogen stations for passenger cars, trucks can be refueled in depots because their routes and daily distances are predictable. Companies are piloting both fuel-cell heavy trucks, as well as battery-electric trucks. With some exceptions, notably Tesla, most companies believe that hydrogen is a better replacement for diesel than batteries because of the loss of space to carry sufficient batteries, as well as the weight penalty.
Hydrogen stationery power is also catching on at ports and other commercial applications, such as housing developments and office buildings to replace natural gas. Stationery power, like heavy trucking, will also benefit from the build-out of hydrogen hubs being built out now by the federal government and private companies.
