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The article is disingenuous in part because its evidence that the hydrogen car's day is past is in part because only 12 were sold in the U.K.

The U.K.? One fifth the population, one tenth the money, a fraction of the cars as people in London take those double-decker buses and what not.

Toyota and Honda have a foot into Hydrogen cars because governments are mandating higher CAFE standards in the short-term and zero-emission cars in the long term.

So, the infrastructure (for vehicles that don't travel nationwide) can be localized. That works for Japan, an smallish island country. It can also work in the U.S. in regions like California, which has some infrastructure.

So yes, only 12 were sold in the U.K. but over 10,000 in the U.S. and 7,000 in Japan, with 2,500 sold last year. Not bad, considering the high price for a small car ($50K before incentives) and the lack of infrastructure outside of California. 400 mile range, MUCH faster refill time than a plug-in electric. 180 hp/300 lb. torque is decent for a small car. REAR WHEEL DRIVE.

Now, I don't see this going in every home, but I do appreciate that Toyota and Honda are coming up with alternatives to having everyone plug into an over-stressed grid.

There doesn't have to be one answer. The sad thing is that the answer won't come organically from businesses making stretegic fleet decisions and consumers picking EV or Hydrogen as a backup commuter car. The answer is skewed by government throwing incentives, disincentives and mandates hither and yon.

Toyota's business isn't avoiding the emission of CO2 or N2 or whatever it is that eco-nazis want to control. Their business is to make cars that people want to buy and will do the job well with fewer headaches than the competition. Their experts figured out that economics and physics don't allow the future to be all plug-in EV, regardless of mandates. This is one way to hedge bets in such an environment.