Toyota's hydrogen Mirai arrives in U.S. for initial sales

Like it or not EV fans, the Toyota Mirai is about to go on sale in California. Toyota issued a brief press release announcing the start of the sales program this week. Now officially rated by the EPA at an estimated 67 MPGe and with an official range of 312 miles, the Mirai is the first ZEV to top the 300 mark between refueling.

The Mirai will begin its sales in the U.S. in California. The vehicle was designed to make the most of the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) carrot and stick program which mandates zero tailpipe emission vehicles be produced and sold by any automaker that wishes to continue to business in the state. Hydrogen cars like those developed by Toyota, Hyundai, and Honda, excel at fast refueling and range between fill-ups. Thus, they receive more credits from CARB and also have higher rebates for customers that purchase the cars in California.

In addition to the news regarding inventory of Mirais this week, Toyota announced that Nissan and Honda will join the automaker in supporting the roll-out of hydrogen fueling stations in the Japanese market. In conjunction with the Japanese government, the three will help to develop the infrastructure before it is needed. Toyota is also partnering with the state of California and other U.S. states to move hydrogen refueling forward. In the U.S. customers that buy a Mirai will receive hydrogen fuel at no cost courtesy of Toyota. Toyota plans to sell 3,000 Mirais over the coming three model years.