While Toyota and the administration of Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are going all in on hydrogen, Volkswagen Group Japan President Shigeru Shoji proclaims FCVs will struggle to make headway elsewhere.
According to Bloomberg, Shoji says the government subsidies meant to push Toyota's Mirai and other FCVs into the marketplace are likely too high for other governments to match. He adds that issues surrounding refueling infrastructure and the handling of hydrogen itself will add to the roadblocks awaiting the technology outside of Japan.
Those comments — echoing sentiments by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other hydrogen skeptics — aren't lost on either Toyota or the Abe administration. Company representative Dion Corbett says the subsidies are needed to help get hydrogen off the ground, citing the high cost of developing fuel-cell technology. That said, Dion believes demand will not only be the highest in Japan — where Abe envisions a "hydrogen society" of fuel-cells for homes and businesses as well as cars — but in Germany, California and the U.S. East Coast.
Though Volkswagen has its doubts, VW Japan representative Yasuo Maruta says the company is keeping its eye on Toyota's efforts, planning to be no more than three years' behind R&D work in relation to Toyota.
The post Volkswagen: Hydrogen Will Struggle Outside of Japan appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
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