Toyota believes that hydrogen will be an important part of the future of cars. The company has been conducting extensive research on its use, and the Toyota Mirai is considered the most representative fuel cell electric car using this technology.
However, Toyota is currently facing a class action lawsuit from a group of people who bought the Mirai. They allege that the company misled them with false promises about the future of the technology.
Toyota, the Hydrogen Car, and a Lawsuit
Toyota has a long-standing history with hydrogen. The Japanese company was exploring the use of hydrogen in the automotive industry as early as the 2000s.
The technology offers many advantages, such as the same refueling time as gasoline, the smoothness and ride comfort of an electric car, and zero emissions. Unlike burning hydrogen, which produces nitric oxide and fine particle emissions, the fuel cell only emits water vapor from the tailpipe.
In 2014, ahead of its competitors, Toyota released the Mirai, its first electric car powered by a fuel cell. This technology uses high-pressure bottled hydrogen to generate electricity through electrolysis, which is then passed through an electric battery to power the vehicle.
So far, it’s the most efficient way known to use hydrogen, although its logistics are still so costly and inefficient that experts have expressed doubts about its viability in small cars. However, Toyota is one of the brands that’s doing the most research in this area, even proposing that hydrogen be burned by a combustion engine to maintain the sensations of gasoline but with lower emissions.
In any case, Toyota has long pointed out that hydrogen will be a very important part of the future of combustion. The Japanese company has also indicated that Europe is the perfect market for its expansion, given the region's broad ambitions for emissions reduction that the European Union has set for the coming years.
However, although the Toyota Mirai is sold in Europe, the options for recharging its tanks are still very limited. In countries like Germany and France, which are working to expand the number of stations, it’s still possible to move with some tranquility. In other countries like Spain, refueling is practically mission impossible.
In the U.S., Toyota is currently facing a class action lawsuit. A group of Toyota Mirai owners claim that the company misled them by guaranteeing an easy refueling process, similar to that of a gasoline-powered car.
The owners state that hydrogen refueling stations are scarce years after the car’s introduction and that the actual driving range of the Toyota Mirai is significantly lower than what was initially promised. “As a result of the various issues identified [in the lawsuit], the vehicles are inoperable,” the plaintiffs assert.
The inconveniences experienced by the plaintiffs include issues during refueling, which starkly contrast with the simplicity that Toyota promised during the sales process.
The Mirai owners claim that they sometimes have to travel long distances before finding a hydrogen fueling station. They also add that, unfortunately, inadequate maintenance of these stations can prevent them from refueling their car, or even worse, leave their vehicle stuck in the middle of refueling. In such cases, the fuel pump’s nozzle can freeze, requiring users to wait for about 30 minutes for it to thaw before they can safely remove it.
The Toyota customers are disappointed because everything the company promised didn’t meet their expectations. They’re also upset that the price of hydrogen as a fuel has nearly tripled in just two years, from $13/kg to $36/kg, making it much more expensive to fill their tanks (from $75.6 to more than $200).
They feel that the company engaged in misleading advertising by selling them a car that could be “feasibly refueled.” Instead, they now consider it “inoperable” and complain that Toyota didn’t inform them of the risks and increased cost of the fuel.
This article was written by Alberto de la Torre and originally published in Spanish on Xataka.
Image | Toyota
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