Toyota on its own with ‘fool cells’

Hydrogen fuel cells are meant to be Toyota’s secret shame. The Japanese car firm has invested heavily in a technology thought worthless by almost everyone else.

Its Mirai saloon costs about $57,000, is tough to refuel and has shifted only 7,000 units. Elon Musk derides “fool cells”. Responses from Toyota have sounded apologetic.

Yet Toyota continues pushing an initiative as seemingly useless as a Mirai 500km from a refuelling point.

Hydrogen vehicles were items one, two and three on a list of steps towards a low-carbon society published with half-year results. No wonder the market focused on earnings from the fuel guzzlers and hybrids customers actually want. Pretax profits rose a quarter to ¥1.5-trillion ($14bn). The group lifted its full-year net profit forecast 8.5% to ¥2.3-trillion to reflect a weakening yen.

The short-term priority for Toyota is to raise rockbottom margins in the US, where its sedans are losing ground to sport utility vehicles made by rivals. It is not to build fuel-cell cars that customers covet even less.

Even so, Toyota’s hydrogen vehicles could give it an edge in the long race away from fossil fuels. The technology is decried as a glittering dead-end for three main reasons. Most fuel cells contain costly platinum. Hydrogen gas has to be manufactured, reducing energy efficiency. Refuelling stations are scarcer than the electric kind.

The counter argument is that fuel cells will end up powering heavier vehicles over long distances with zero pollution. The Tesla 3 has a range of 350km to 500km. Electric vehicle evangelists embrace the belief that the power-to-weight ratio of batteries will rise exponentially.

Everyone is developing hybrids and electrics. Only Toyota and Honda are serious about hydrogen. Toyota shares trade a shade ahead of old-school car makers. That reflects the group’s scale and efficiency. A free option on fuel cells is worth having. /London, November 7