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It was supposed to be the fuel of the future, but it caused big problems for Toyota. Check out how the Toyota Mirai lost market value and still made the brand pay a lot of money to buyers of the vehicle.
Toyota made a big bet on hydrogen, claiming that it was the fuel of the future. In the midst of what seemed like a great idea, the renowned Japanese manufacturer named its Toyota Mirai first hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle. For those who don't know, Mirai means “future” in Japanese, so the name seemed quite suitable for Toyota's great ambition.
Unfortunately, things didn't go the way Toyota wanted! According to several reports from people who purchased the Toyota Mirai, the car was not the ideal future promised by the manufacturer. With the vehicle's infrastructure falling apart and the rapid depreciation of the Toyota Mirai, owners even asked the Japanese manufacturer for a buyback, with some even taking the case to court.
From fuel of the future to lawsuits: understand what happened to the Toyota Mirai, a hydrogen-powered car
Currently, many of those who purchased the Toyota Mirai powered by hydrogen – or rather, the fuel of the future – are still angry with the manufacturer, with the feeling that they were deceived into buying a car that should have a high potential, but which In fact, it didn't even have an ideal supply infrastructure for support.
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Shawn Hall, one of the customers dissatisfied with the Toyota Mirai, stated: “Hydrogen fuel is no longer available in San Francisco, where I live. Toyota continues to sell this vehicle. How is this acceptable?”
This situation is quite similar to the first obstacles in loading eletric cars, as charging stations were very scarce. Nowadays, much of the world already has this support, but in some places it is still quite complicated to charge electric vehicles.
Returning to the case of hydrogen, even though the US added more than a thousand fast charger stations, hydrogen fueling infrastructure was increasingly diminished in California, the only state where the fuel of the future was widely available.
A good purchase… But not! The fuel of the future still needs to be studied further
The fact is that hydrogen fuel cell technology is not yet 100% studied and is still in the development phase. However, we can say that Toyota is the most suitable company – or should be – to provide a car with this type of tech, as the Japanese manufacturer has been working on hydrogen for decades. After all, if Toyota was not suitable for this, it would not have released a car like the Toyota Mirai in 2015.
The Toyota Mirai, like any FCEV powered by hydrogen, it is considered an electric vehicle, but instead of transferring energy to the battery, it stores compressed hydrogen in tanks, which makes it possible to recharge the on-board battery with just heat and water as by-products, making the car ideal for drivers who want an electric car, but who are unable to recharge the vehicle at home.
Mirai Price
Currently, the average value of a Toyota Mirai (year 2023) is US$50.595, which is around R$262.097, including the cost of delivery, but can cost around US$67.095 (R$347.572) in Limited version. With many complaints about the difficulty of charging the vehicle, Toyota decided to offer generous incentives, with the aim of slightly lowering the cost of the Toyota Mirai.
Those who financed the Mirai XLE they received US$22.000, around R$113.966, reducing the cost of the Mirai to US$28.595 (R$148.130). The Japanese manufacturer also gave another incentive of US$40.000 (R$207.212) for the Limited version to be configured, reducing the total cost of the Mirai to US$27.095 (R$140.360). Oh yes, thanks to the new incentive given by Toyota, the Limited version is now cheaper than the XLE, even though it is the brand's top of the line version.
The manufacturer was also responsible for paying for the fuel of the future, hydrogen, to the Mirai owner when purchasing the vehicle. So, when purchasing the brand new Toyota Mirai at the dealership, Toyota will offer the buyer a fuel card, worth $15.000 (R$77.704).
VPlease note that the fuel card of the future is valid for 6 years or until the vehicle reaches around 30.000 miles, or 48.280 km of autonomy. With these incentives, new customers are likely to come forward to purchase a Toyota Mirai with the fuel of the future.
Ham! I see! Toyota is going through the same process as other brands and models that threaten the Yankee market.