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Three mainstream automobile manufacturers, Honda, Hyundai and Toyota, sell and lease hydrogen vehicles. The Clarity (Honda) and Mirai (Toyota) are sedans; the Nexo (Hyundai) is a sport utility vehicle.
Combined, the three vehicles compromise a small fraction of the automotive industry and are overwhelmingly in California.
Ben Xiong, the Communications Specialist at California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP) in West Sacramento, California, discusses the hydrogen vehicle industry on this week’s episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast.
Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia report on the progress of the hydrogen car and truck industry, the public’s perception of hydrogen fuel and the availability of hydrogen refueling stations.
“My main passion, really, is reacting with people via public website and social media about the industry,” said Xiong, who has been working with the CaFCP for 15 years. “Right now there are 45 locations in California that are open for retail (public) use in California,” said Xiong. “They are primarily focused in Southern and Northern California and we do have one in the central valley at Harris Ranch (Coalinga).”
Hydrogen Cars Have Perks
Founded in 1999, the California Fuel Cell Partnership is an industry/government collaboration aimed at expanding the market for fuel cell electric vehicles powered by hydrogen to help create a cleaner, more energy-diverse future with no-compromises zero-emission vehicles.
While unheralded and limited, Xiong explains his industry’s beliefs in fuel-cell vehicles and the monetary perks of buying or leasing a hydrogen vehicle.
Please join us for an interview with a hydrogen fuel industry proponent.
Beyond our podcast, please visit www.cafcp.org for hydrogen vehicle specifications, a map of fueling stations in California and a host of articles about the industry.
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Article Last Updated: May 3, 2021.
- About the Author
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.
