Toyota launched its first fuel cell-electric Mirai in 2016 to provide an emission-free drive, but not many people opted to buy this sedan mainly because of two reasons. First, its price was very high and secondly due to the lack of hydrogen fuel stations. The low sales didn’t stop Toyota to update the Mirai for 2020 though. Toyota Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada confirmed this at a hydrogen conference held in Tokyo to Automotive News.
Talking about the price factor, the Mirai went on sale at a starting price of $57,500, which is very high for a non-premium compact sedan. The price will eventually go down, but it will take a lot of time. In the U.S., the automaker only sold 1,700, and this figure won’t improve until they install more hydrogen fuel stations and give incentives to buyers.
The details about the updated Toyota Mirai are scarce at the moment. However, we know it will boast the same architecture with fuel cell stack placed under the front seats and the hydrogen tanks below the rear seats. The 153 horsepower Mirai promises to deliver 482 km of range.
Toyota isn’t stopping at just fuel cell cars; they also have plans to bring fuel cell semi-trailer trucks. They have been testing them for the past two years and announced to join hands with Kenworth truck manufacturing company to develop ten semi-trailer trucks. These trucks would reportedly deliver 482 km of range as well and will be used to carry cargo across the U.S.
If you are looking to get more information, check our Mirai test drive.