Toyota Fuel cell car Mirai already exceeded all expectations in Japan in the first month of sales: If the carmaker had expected annual sales of 400 units, according to the manufacturer, around 1.500 orders have already been placed.
Authorities and companies account for 60 percent of previous orders, the remaining 40 percent are private customers. The fuel cell vehicle is particularly in demand in densely populated Tokyo.
Named after the Japanese word for future, the 4,90-meter-long Mirai is the world's first real production car with a fuel cell. The sedan will hit the German market in September. In Europe the bearer of hope is likely to find it much more difficult. Not only because there are currently only a dozen hydrogen filling stations in Germany, for example. But also because the Japanese are charging over 78.000 euros for the Mirai - twice as much as BMW for the i3 and even more than Tesla for the S model.
Author: Adele Moser / SP-X