Who wants a free car?
If you act quickly, you have the opportunity to save $40,000 on a 2023 Toyota Mirai, a fuel-cell vehicle originally priced at $52,000. With $15,000 worth of free hydrogen over six years and a 0% interest loan, Toyota is essentially offering a $3,000 incentive to take the car off their hands.
However, the deal comes with a catch – finding hydrogen fuel may prove challenging.
Toyota’s discount follows Shell’s recent announcement of closing its hydrogen filling stations in California. Although Shell only operated seven stations (five of which were inactive), this closure affects over 10% of the state’s hydrogen fueling stations, mainly concentrated around Los Angeles and San Francisco. A quarter of the remaining stations are currently offline, as reported by the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership.
While California remains the only viable state for fuel cell vehicles if there are accessible and functioning filling stations, the situation remains uncertain due to the dwindling availability of hydrogen refueling points.
On another note, Honda recently made headlines by transforming their popular CR-V into a plug-in hybrid fuel-cell vehicle, which offers limited electric-only range and requires hydrogen refills for extended travel.
Despite the potential benefits of hydrogen as an energy source in various industries, the use of hydrogen for passenger vehicles remains challenging due to limited infrastructure and the reliance on green hydrogen for carbon emission reduction.
In the short term, battery-powered vehicles seem to be the more practical solution for achieving zero emissions in light-duty vehicles. However, automakers like Toyota and Honda continue to invest in fuel cells for various reasons, including the appeal of fast fueling and keeping the manufacturing process in-house.
While there are differing opinions on the future of fuel-cell vehicles, it is evident that the transition towards hydrogen-powered transportation may take years to materialize, with uncertainties surrounding consumer adoption and infrastructure development.
