While hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles represent but a blip on the radar at present, there has been a 300 percent growth in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles sold in 2016, with an unprecedented 2500 FCVs making it to highways. It’s an important development in a field that has been striving to gain traction for some time. In fact, several mainstream automakers look to FCVs as the logical path to mass market vehicle electrification.
“Despite the growth, the number of fuel cell vehicles sold and leased are minuscule compared to the market,” says Naqi Jaffery, president and CEO of Information Trends. “However, the growth portends well for the future of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Information Trends’ report, Global Market for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles 2017, points out that California grew the fastest in terms of sales and leases, but remained behind Japan in terms of volume.
To date, Toyota’s Mirai FCV leads the global market with 2,000 units produced and placed with consumers in 2016. The Hyundai Tucson FCV is a distant second, trailed by Honda Clarity. The Clarity, however, is just getting ramped up with a major commitment by Honda.
As Japan implements its ‘hydrogen society’ efforts and California expands the state’s hydrogen fueling network, Green Car Journal anticipates a continued market growth momentum in the rarified fuel cell electric car segment.
