The second-generation Toyota Mirai was never going to be a big seller given the lack of a comprehensive hydrogen refueling network, but it did show the brand’s commitment to the technology. However, Toyota has now admitted that given the Mirai’s lack of popularity, it is shifting its hydrogen focus to commercial vehicles.
While speaking at the ongoing Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo, Toyota technical chief Hiroki Nakajima noted that establishing a refueling network for commercial hydrogen vehicles will be easier than for a vehicle like the Mirai.
“We have tried Mirai but not been successful,” he told Autocar. “Hydrogen stations are very few and difficult to realize, so Mirai is smaller [in volume]. For mid-size trucks, it’s easy to deliver [a refueling network], as it’s mainly A to B. Huge numbers of trucks go from A to B, so you can operate stations with more stability. Commercial vehicles are the most important area to try to proceed on with hydrogen.”
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Toyota isn’t completely giving up on hydrogen passenger cars. Nakajima noted the car manufacturer is looking for ways to downsize the components of its hydrogen powertrain so they can be used in different models. He also suggested that there could be a market for hydrogen pickup trucks but didn’t say if the firm is actively developing any.
Although the carmaker doesn’t deem the current Mirai a success, it has been more popular than the first-generation model. Toyota sold 2,629 examples of the second-gen Mirai in 2021 in the U.S., 2,094 units in 2022, and in the first nine months of this year, 2,604. This comes despite there only being 57 hydrogen refueling locations across the entire country, all of which are found in California.
Toyota won’t just continue to develop hydrogen-powered BEVs but also keep on working on hydrogen-fuelled internal combustion engines. It has been racing a bespoke GR Corolla in Japan throughout much of 2023 that has a 1.6-liter turbocharged three-cylinder powered by hydrogen stored in four carbon fiber fuel tanks. This engine runs on gaseous hydrogen but Toyota has also made an engine that runs on liquid hydrogen.
