Mirai sales boom

At $500k each that’s not to surprising.

 

They're being resold for $500k, but new Lexus still sells them for MSRP of between $300k and $400k. But they stopped production 8 years ago. 2 people bought a brand new 2012 LFA in 2020. I believe they still require you to be socially distant from anyone else who owns an LFA, that hasn't changed. I got to whip one around Vegas before and got to see it launch at SEMA. Awesome car.

 

Yes awesome car! Most dealers have a mark up. Several Lexus Dealer owners own and show them on theIr showroom floors. These cars are amazing and will be a big time investments. Not that rare in SoCal have seen several over the years Mirai is now being built within the LFA factory.

 

How many Mirai sales are repeat customers turning a lease and getting another? Is the consumer base actually growing?

And Tesla started selling their first fully in house designed and built car just 8 years ago

So lease plus free fuel is cheaper than $3000 and paying for the hydrogen.

 

Based on what I can tell a high percentage of owners coming off lease are buying a new one or a CPO car. Then there are those who have turned in their car and are waiting for the release of the 2021 model. So I would say “new” owners are growing, whether they buy new or CPO. There is a large active Mirai community.

 

8 years of being in the news almost daily, good or bad, has to get some of the public’s attention that Toyota has not gained. Tesla has also turned into a status symbol with young affluent individuals. Toyota doesn’t have the same upscale status symbol that Lexus has. Once Toyota crosses over to Lexus/Hydrogen vehicles they will pick up more up these sales, by individuals who drive their purchase on vehicle status.

 

A part of Tesla's status is because of their high performance. The Lexus GS has a lower MSRP than the current Mirai, and is no slouch compared to the Model 3 SR+. Neither is the V6 Camry for that matter. The current Mirai might beat the the Prius, Corolla, and Yaris, or it might not. We know the 2021 is getting a more powerful motor, but it is also a bigger car, and will likely be heavier.

For more humble comparisons, we can look at the Leaf and Bolt during their first four years.
Nissan Leaf US car sales figures
Chevrolet Bolt EV US car sales figures

 

I would tend to believe because of Tesla’s notoriety and being in the news weekly, that the Leaf and Bolt are riding on the coat tails of Tesla’s success and status as a much cheaper alternative. Toyota Mirai is alone making its own mark and leading at its own pace as infrastructure grows. With Hyundai and Honda joining in on this exciting journey of H2, growth will continue and is an alternative to Pure EV.

 

You don't seem aware of hydrogen's history. The Govenator started California's hydrogen highway in 2004. The FCX Clarity was made available to individuals in 2008. Production of the ix35/Tucson FCEV started in 2013. The first one arrived in the US in 2014, and it was available for sale in other markets. Mirai sales start in 2015 for the US.

The Mirai might be the most successful hydrogen car to date, but Toyota and others laid a lot of ground work first. Let's not forget that old GM put a lot of dollars into FCEVs, and is the largest holder of patents for them. That's part of why Honda approached them for a FCEV partnership.

 

And? Tesla was established in 2003.......their road to success has taken 17 years. Toyota has only been selling FCEV for 3 years. The acceptance of EV since the EV1 has been a long road. So with roughly 10k Mirai being sold world wide in 3 years, that’s not too shabby.

 

Spoken like a Cubs fan in 1910.

Mike

 

At the 2nd gen Prius launch event (somewhere near Oakland) back in 2003 I rode in a prototype Toyota FCEV.
It was in a Rav4 body, IIRC. The message from Toyota was, yeah this Prius thing is nice but the FCEV will be here soon!

Mike

 

Minor difference. Tesla started from nothing back then while Toyota was one of the biggest companies in the world.

Mike

 

You sure it was an FCEV and not a plug-in EV?

 

And if it was not for Toyota and Mercedes there would be no Tesla.

 

Just on a logical fallacy position, do you realize how misshapen than statement is?
You are comparing the time passed since one company was formed, with the time passed since another company is selling a specific model???

 

Nothing to do with the formation of a company. It has to do with the length of time an idea has been around and marketed to the public. Tesla has 17 years of publicity for EV vehicles. Toyota has only had several years in limited states and dealers to publicize Hydrogen and Mirai to the public. Tesla has a big advantage in this area, and sales are reflected by it. Mirai market is small for many factors, but not due to the fault of their car.

 

Toyota had 7 FCEV concept cars going back to 1997.
Before the Mirai, three generations of the Toyota FCHV were available to fleets and select people.
They even had a FCEV bus in 2003 that is still running some routes.
List of fuel cell vehicles - Wikipedia

Toyota has spent a lot of time and money on hydrogen cars, and a start up is having more success with BEVs, while stealing Lexus sales.

That was likely a FCHV-4. It was based on the Highlander, which at the time, was much more humble in appearance, if not smaller than today's model.

Toyota is backing FCEVs hard. Honda and Hyundai diversified into plug ins, but toyota only did it for markets that forced them to.

And without out millions to billions in government cash, Toyota and others wouldn't have continued their hydrogen programs.

They both made money off that investment. Toyota is probably wishing they had held onto some of Tesla stock at this point.

GM made their first FCEV concept back in 1966, and has been tinkering with them to some degree ever since. Toyota hasn't been working on them as long, but for far longer than Tesla has been company. they had a concept out when they released the first Prius in Japan. They were working on them as the EV1 and first Rav4 EV were being crushed.

California and hydrogen boosters have been talking about hydrogen for at least as long as Tesla has been a company.

The Mirai is not a brand new, novel car. It is the cumulation of multiple generations of concept and test cars, and it is still a very expensive car that can't compete with other models in its price range.

 

You seem to be missing my point. Tesla being a young company of 17 years has had so much publicity, good and bad that has helped them become the company they are. What Americans, including you, have much knowledge about Toyota, Honda or Hyundai FCEV programs without google and Wikipedia? Has Fuel Cell development been around a long time, yes. But most are unaware of it and unaware of Toyota, Honda and Hyundai offerings or understanding of the concept of Hydrogen vehicles.