Sales Of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars Continue To Increase Towards The End Of 2023

Totoya Mirai is still dominated by the sale of hydrogen cars. (Doc. Toyota Global)

The hydrogen fuel cell (FCV) vehicle segment is indeed not flooded with big enthusiasts such as pure electric vehicles (EVs) or hybrids. However, this does not mean that this segment is not in demand at all.

In the US, over the past few quarters, this segment is said to have continued to increase, potentially leading to the best sales ever, particularly in the California region, where infrastructure is mushrooming for hydrogen fuel cells.

Based on data from Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership, during the third quarter of this year, 966 FCV cars have been sold in the US, an increase of 531 percent compared to last year, according to InsideEVs, Sunday, October 29.

This result is close to sales in the second quarter of 1,076 units, which is a surprising result. Keep in mind, the number of available vehicle models has actually decreased and is not supported by adequate infrastructure.

Currently, this segment is still controlled by Toyota Mirai which recorded sales of up to 882 units during the third quarter, an increase of 1.016 percent from the previous year. Meanwhile, other models such as Hyundai Nexo experienced a decline with only 68 units sold in that period.

If the Hyundai Nexo is stopped production, then Toyota will be the only one occupying this special segment. Previously, Honda had stopped Clarity hydrogen in 2021 because its sales were not promising.

So far, the FCV segment has sold 2,767 units in nine months in 2023, an increase of 39 percent from the previous year. This result exceeds the overall achievement in 2022 of 2,707 cars sold.

Of the 2,767 units, Toyota Mirai dominated up to 2,604 units, an 81 percent increase from last year's acquisition. Meanwhile, Hyundai Nexo only managed to sell 173 units or weakened 50 percent from last year.