I guess we shouldn’t be surprised… Toyota has been dipping its tires in just about every energy source recently. The carmaker recently revealed a new all-electric SUV lineup and has been working on a combustion engine for a mid-engine sports car. And it’s apparently not giving up on hydrogen either.
The hydrogen-powered Mirai was introduced all the way back in 2014, but returned in 2020 in an attempt to elevate the Mirai into a “premium car that will make customers think that ‘this is a high-quality car I truly want’ immediately upon seeing it, while driving, and after they complete a trip.” Toyota added that the Mirai is the start of a “hydrogen-based society of the future.”
It seems that this was a future that only Toyota wanted. The carmaker only sold 210 Mirais in 2025, down 57.8% from 2024’s 499 units. This has made it one of Toyota’s worst-selling models, despite offering a $15,000 hydrogen fuel card at purchase. The issue? Drivers can’t even find hydrogen fuel.
Toyota is currently facing a $5.7 billion class-action lawsuit in California for selling and leasing cars despite being aware of the fuel shortage and the lack of open refueling stations. Plaintiffs claim that Toyota promoted the Mirai as a convenient and practical car that would have hydrogen fueling stations around the country. This, of course, never happened. There are currently about 70 hydrogen fuel stations across the United States, most of which are in California. And if you’re lucky enough to find a station, you’ll be paying up the tailpipe for it. The Autopian calculated that you’d pay $5,000 just to drive 10,000 miles.
For many drivers, the Mirai can’t even be sold because it has no value, leaving them no choice but to sell their hydrogen fuel cards and wait for the results of the lawsuit.
Despite the Mirai’s failure being so catastrophic that Toyota is being sued for it, the automaker is apparently bringing the hydrogen paperweight into 2026 practically unchanged.
Why is the Toyota Mirai still here?
For some reason, Toyota still believes in hydrogen. The Mirai is back in 2026 with new aluminum wheels — and still nowhere to fill it up or drive it. I’m truly uncertain what Toyota is predicting will happen with the Mirai this time around. My guess is that it will sell far fewer than 100 at this point.
The issue is that Toyota may not really have a choice but to keep trying. Along with other automakers like Hyundai and BMW, Toyota has been pretty invested in the concept of a “hydrogen-based society of the future.” And that includes putting down real money. It renamed a facility in California the “Hydrogen Headquarters (H2HQ)” and has been working on new fuel cell tech. It has continued to work with fuel station companies to build more hydrogen pumps. In 2025, Toyota even announced that it would be producing hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric Class 8 heavy-duty trucks to combat diesel.
“Hydrogen as a fuel — and especially fuel cells — offer benefits that can make a positive change, and we are invested in their long-term success,” Toyota Group Vice President of Powertrain Engineering Jordan Choby said. “We are investing in resources that we believe will lead to sustainable growth, both for our operations and the entire value chain in this still-evolving transportation sector.”
Choby went on to say that hydrogen is a path to “energy independence, security, and innovation,” again stating that it will shape society. At this point, it’s clear that Toyota is not going to give up on hydrogen, and this includes lugging the Mirai along for the journey. Or maybe to look like it hasn’t given up on hydrogen — and neither should you! As others have said, it probably wouldn’t look good if Toyota scrapped the Mirai, as if it were admitting hydrogen fuel was a mistake.
But it’s only proving that point more and more by reminding us of the Mirai’s continued failure and impending death.
