Toyota Mirai overtakes Hyundai Nexo as world's best selling fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV)

The Toyota Mirai is now the world’s best-selling fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), overtaking the Hyundai Nexo, according to data compiled by Korea’s SNE Research.

Global FCEV sales hit a record high in Q1 2021, with an estimated 4,000 units delivered worldwide. This represents an 89 percent growth over same three-month period in 2020.

Most of the growth was attributed to the Toyota Mirai, which according to SNE Research’s Global FCEV Monthly Tracker, saw sales jumping from an estimated 300 units in Q1 2020, to around 2,000 units in Q1 2021.

It also means that the Toyota Mirai has overtaken the Hyundai Nexo, which sold around 1,800 units in Q1 2021 (up from around 1,400 units in Q1 2020), as the world’s best-selling FCEV.

The Honda Clarity trails behind in third place, with sales maintaining at around 100 units in the last quarter, unchanged from Q1 2020.  

The second generation Toyota Mirai went on sale in Japan and USA in December 2020, followed by Europe in March 2021.

The rear-wheel drive, hydrogen-fueled, electrically-driven Toyota Mirai has a driving range of up to 850 km (WLTC standard, with fuel capacity calculated using Japan’s JARI’s JEVS method, 650 km using European standard).

The Mirai can be refueled in less than 5 minutes, with hydrogen stored in 3 high-pressure storage tanks – one in the centre tunnel, two under the rear section.

The electrified drivetrain makes 182 PS, with a top speed limited to 175 km/h.

The rear-wheel drive Mirai rides on the same GA-L platform as the Toyota Crown and Lexus LS. Toyota says the Mirai has an ideal 50:50 front:rear weight distribution.

The drivetrain works pretty much like a hybrid, substituting the petrol engine for the fuel cell.

When accelerating from standstill, the lithium-ion drive battery drives the electric motor to turn the rear wheels.

At normal driving speeds, the fuel cell drives the motor (fuel cell generates electricity using hydrogen and oxygen from air). 

When more power is required, both the fuel cell and drive battery work together provide additional boost.

During braking or deceleration, excess energy is recovered by the motor (now working in generator mode) to recharge the drive battery.

What is an FCEV, what’s the difference with BEV or a hydrogen engine?

An FCEV is a type of electrified vehicle (collectively grouped as xEV) but it should not be confused with a battery electric vehicle (BEV).

An FCEV doesn’t require charging, but you refuel it with hydrogen, which is then used to make electricity on-board.

Meanwhile, a BEV needs to be plugged in to a power socket to recharge.

Also, a hydrogen-fueled FCEV should not be confused with a hydrogen burning combustion engine car, which is another solution that Toyota is working on.

Also read: Listen to this hydrogen-burning engine driven Toyota Corolla race car vroom by

An FCEV uses fuel cell technology to combine hydrogen with oxygen from air, to generate electricity, with the only emission being water. It’s essentially an electric vehicle, but one that you can’t plug in to charge (exception being Mercedes-Benz GLC F-Cell, but driving range is no better, circa 480 km).

Instead of plugging in, you fill it up an FCEV with hydrogen.

Also, many assume that the electricity generated by the fuel cell is stored in a battery. FCEVs don’t work that way. FCEVs usually carry only a small, regular hybrid-like drive battery. The battery only stores energy recovered during braking/coasting.

Instead, the fuel cell’s output electricity is sent directly to the motor.

The benefit of FCEVs over BEVs are faster refueling (recharge) time and superior driving range (although recent EVs are rapidly catching up as battery cost goes down and power density goes up).

Also, hydrogen can be generated from multiple sources, including garbage (biowaste), using renewable energy. The problem however, is rolling out the necessary hydrogen refueling infrastructure.

Some countries like Japan and Korea find hydrogen fuel cell to be a more suitable technology over BEVs as it puts less strain on the country’s power grid, crucial in a countries like Japan and Korea, which at peak summer / winter seasons, have little excess power generation capacity to spare to support EVs.

Another plus point for FCEVs is that their driving range are less affected by ambient temperature, a huge plus point over BEVs, whose range drop in extreme cold.

Then there are applications for heavy duty commercial vehicles - long haul trucks and buses for example. FCEVs are better suited for such applications because a BEV's batteries would take up too much cargo space.

Meanwhile, the hydrogen burning combustion engine that Toyota is testing (actually they are racing it) on a modified Corolla hatchback uses a conventional 1.6-litre turbocharged 3-cylinder combustion engine from the GR Yaris, but adapted to burn hydrogen.

Why? Because engines sound a lot better than electric motors. For car lovers like Toyota President Akio Toyoda, things like this matters.

Apart from Toyota, Hyundai, and Honda, BMW and Mercedes-Benz too is working on FCEVs.

The BMW i Hydrogen Next, essentially an X5 FCEV, uses fuel cell technology borrowed from the Toyota Mirai. The model will enter limited series production in 2022.

Closer to home, the Sarawak state government is putting FCEV technology and hydrogen refueling station on trial, with two units of the Hyundai Nexo, operated by Sarawak Energy.