Toyota did not manage to sell a great quantity of its hydrogen-powered Mirai. However, those now disgruntled owners in California are suing the carmaker for providing misleading information about the practicality of owning a fuel-cell car.
According to the lawsuit, Toyota’s promotion of the Mirai as seamless to fuel, with comparisons made with gas-powered cars, is simply false. In reality, hydrogen fuel stations are few and far between, with Shell shutting down all its hydrogen fueling stations in California in the first quarter of the year.
Canadian FCEV drivers, however, may find it easier to refuel as British Columbia proposes $900 million in investments in a hydrogen refueling network.
The fuel itself is expensive, with prices increasing by almost 300 percent in the US in the last two years.
Apart from struggling to find fueling stations, the owners complained of spending hours to actually put fuel in the tank. This is even worsened by the Mirai’s actual driving range, which is significantly less than what Toyota led them to believe.
Owners who wanted to end the Mirai nightmare quickly discovered the car did not retain much value. They claimed the used car only attracted less than 20 percent of its original value.
Toyota managed to secure a partnership with the organizers of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games to supply 500 Mirai cars and ten hydrogen coaches for transporting visitors and athletes. However, over 120 scientists, academics, and engineers opposed the deal, arguing that the organizers should promote battery-electric vehicles instead.
