Toyota is providing enormous reductions on the 2023 Mirai in California. The range-topping Restricted variant of the fuel-cell electrical automobile has an MSRP of $67,115. However after factoring in money incentives, free gas, and tax credit, the Mirai turns into among the many most reasonably priced EVs on sale proper now.
Not too long ago, Automobiles Direct reported that Toyota despatched bulletins to pick out California sellers, providing a rebate of as much as $40,000 on the hydrogen-fueled Mirai. That’s practically well worth the MSRP of a completely new Tesla Mannequin 3 RWD. Toyota is providing these steep reductions by means of what it calls Toyota Monetary Companies (TFS) subvention money.
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Toyota’s largest reductions on the Mirai.
As a product, the Toyota Mirai is not dangerous in any respect. 402 miles of zero-emissions vary, 5 minutes of hydrogen refueling time, and practically all of the cabin goodies that you just’d count on from a premium sedan. Nevertheless, the shortage of hydrogen refueling stations severely limits its prospects.
This brings the worth all the way down to $27,000, making it roughly 60% cheaper. On high of that, Toyota additionally affords complimentary refueling for six years or price $15,000, whichever comes first after buy. When you lease the Mirai, it’s $15,000 or three years of free hydrogen refueling.
So over three or six years—relying in your utilization—the Mirai’s price can be roughly $12,000.
That’s not it. You may be capable of stack some native rebates in California as effectively. Nevertheless, the state’s essential EV incentive program, the clear automobile rebate, stopped accepting new purposes in November 2023. The state plans to tweak the eligibility guidelines to give attention to incentivizing low-income people and households as a substitute.
All mentioned, there’s a twist. Solely a few dozen Restricted variants had been left with this supply, so discovering one can be arduous. There could possibly be extra XLE variants on supply—verify together with your Toyota seller in case you stay in California—and people could be had with a $22,000 money incentive.
Assuming you get your palms on one among these uncommon highly-discounted fashions, your largest drawback can be discovering hydrogen. In contrast to gasoline and electrical energy, hydrogen pumping stations are scarce. Early in February, Shell introduced that it was pulling the plug on all seven of its hydrogen stations in California.
Shell mentioned provide considerations and exterior market components led them to close down their hydrogen pumps. There are solely a handful of hydrogen stations open now within the San Francisco Bay Space and Southern California. When you do not stay in these hotspots, you are out of luck. Right here’s a map that exhibits the provision and standing of hydrogen refueling stations.
Broadly talking, FCEVs have not taken off like BEVs on account of their comparatively larger price of refueling, costly transportation, and storage, and the truth that hydrogen stations price much more to put in than a set of DC quick chargers. And Stage 2 chargers price a fraction of that to put in.
However the know-how is much from extinct. If in any respect you may have entry to a hydrogen pumping station, a $12,000 Mirai is not something to balk at. It affords 402 miles of EPA vary with a single top-up, and the options it might supply at that value will make it fairly a uncommon deal. However in case you don’t stay close to hydrogen stations, you higher not get carried away with these reductions.