Price cut and monthly sales spike for Toyota Mirai fuel-cell sedan
Follow John Add to circle2017 Toyota Mirai Enlarge PhotoSometimes journalists miss the forest for the trees, and we'll plead guilty on this one.When we wrote last week that the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell sedan was little-changed for the 2017 model year, with only one new color added, we missed one important element.That was, as several readers informed us, that while the retail price remained the same, the monthly lease cost had fallen sharply: from $499 to $349 per month.
Toyota Mirai lease price drops to $349/month
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2017 Toyota Mirai price stays same, fuel-cell car adds new color
The Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell car will enter its second model year in the U.S. virtually unchanged, including its pricing.The 2017 Mirai continues to be Toyota's technology halo car, the highest-selling fuel-cell car in the U.S., though it remains limited to certain California regional markets.Its base price remains $58,365, the same as the 2016 model.
Poop-Powered Car: Toyota Mirai Runs off Hydrogen from Human Waste
It's the same poo-to-hydrogen conversion that's proven quite useful in India, where "they have loads of biogas plants in villages and such that are just part of their energy infrastructure," according to Marc Melaina of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.It's a process that Yoshikazu Tanaka, chief engineer of the Toyota Mirai, would ultimately like to see create a "hydrogen society," but poo isn't known for it's renewable potential, at least in the United States.Bill Elrick, executive director of the California Fuel Cell Partnership, laid bare the dilemma to Quartz, saying "There's only some few hundred Mirais in the state of California right now...that's not enough to turn it into a full business from Toyota's perspective or the energy producers' perspectives."But, the effects of turning poop into energy -- and even viable drinking water -- have been proven repeatedly.
On the road: Toyota Mirai video
On CarsOn the road: Toyota Mirai Brian Cooley drives the new Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car and shows you what it's like to drive one in the real world.