Toyota’s $58,000 MIrai fuel-cell electric car will be delivered to first buyers beginning in October. Sales are limited to California until fueling stations proliferate elsewhere.(Photo: Toyota)
Toyota says Californians can begin placing orders for the $58,000 Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell electric car this summer, and cars will arrive at eight California dealerships beginning in October.
It’s the first full-fledged, mainstream fuel-cell car available for outright purchase, albeit only in California at the moment. Other automakers that build fuel-cell vehicles have lease-only deals and the customers can’t buy the vehicles at the end of the lease.
Toyota’s announcement is the most detailed it has been about when, where and for how much it’ll sell Mirai. The price is $58,325 including the current shipping charge of $825 for 2015 Toyotas. But Mirai is a 2016 model and Toyota cautioned shipping might go up for 2016s.
The first sales this year will be limited to people who live close enough to California’s network of hydrogen fueling stations to make using a fuel-cell car realistic.
However, Toyota has a partnership with French company Air Liquide to build hydrogen stations in the Northeast beginning next year, Toyota spokeswoman Jana Hartline says. The stations will be built in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island to accommodate Mirai sales in those states, which share some California clean-air regulations.
Hartline says Toyota expects to sell 3,000 by the end of 2017, and the car will continue in production: “It’s here to stay.”
Hyundai and Honda both lease fuel-cell vehicles, but don’t sell them. Honda has done so for years with its FCX Clarity. Hyundai began last June 10 with a Tucson SUV converted to fuel-cell operation.
Hyundai charges $499 per month for three years, with no option to buy the car at the end of the lease. The price includes all fuel and service during the period. Honda charged $600 per month and likewise covers most costs, including fuel.
Other automakers are developing fuel-cell cars, which are electric cars, but not plug-ins. Hydrogen from on-board tanks is mixed in the fuel cell with oxygen. An electro-chemical reaction produces electricity to run the car’s motor and emits only water vapor.
The attractions: The cars refuel similarly to gasoline and diesel cars, so the process is quick and familiar. There’s no air pollution, though producing hydrogen takes large amounts of electricity, which isn’t always produced cleanly.
The main drawbacks are high prices for the car and the fuel, and lack of nationwide fueling stations.
The government says hydrogen is about $9 to $11 per kilogram, though it should drop if the fuel-cell vehicles become popular enough to demand a nationwide infrastructure. Fuel-cell cars hold roughly 5 kg of hydrogen, and will go 250 to 300 miles.
Toyota says it’ll provide a fuel-economy rating later. The federal government says Honda Clarity goes 59 miles per kilogram in combined city/highway driving and has a range of 231 miles. The government rates the Hyundai Tucson fuel cell at 49 miles per kg and a driving range of 265 miles.
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