en.Wedoany.com Reported - Toyota recently deployed 40 Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell trucks in Southern California, with these vehicles being operated by Hyroad. Hyroad was formed by former Nikola executives and acquired Nikola's hydrogen truck assets. Toyota not only provides the vehicles but also supplies hydrogen through the refueling infrastructure it built in Ontario, California.
This deployment model is evident across several of Toyota's hydrogen transportation projects. Toyota typically appears in multiple roles, such as fuel cell module supplier, vehicle development partner, infrastructure investor, fleet customer, hydrogen offtaker, or hydrogen station supporter. These projects include CaetanoBus in Portugal, FirstElement in California, Shell's early hydrogen station rollout in California, Toyota's Tri-gen project in Long Beach, fuel cell trucks in collaboration with PACCAR and VDL, partnerships with Hino and Isuzu, fuel cell R&D with BMW, as well as marine and rail demonstration projects.
As one of the world's large industrial enterprises, Toyota possesses engineering capabilities and a history of hybrid powertrain development. Its strategy to retain fuel cell capabilities is influenced by Japanese industrial policy support and California's subsidies for hydrogen refueling infrastructure. Currently, the criteria for testing whether a hydrogen transportation market is established include: whether there are repeat customers, whether independent hydrogen station economics are viable, whether utilization rates are rising, whether costs are declining, and whether battery electric technology cannot meet specific application scenarios.
Taking passenger vehicles as an example, a 2025 report from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) shows that as of April 2025, only 14,128 fuel cell vehicles were in operation in California, recording a year-over-year decline for the first time. The report noted that high retail hydrogen prices suppressed consumer demand, leading to reduced mileage, lower fueling volumes, and hydrogen stations struggling to cover operating costs. As of August 2025, California had only 61 hydrogen stations, 50 of which were open to the public. Shell exited the light-duty hydrogen refueling business in California in 2024. Toyota's investment in FirstElement in 2025 is seen as support for existing fuel cell vehicle users.
In the heavy-duty truck sector, battery electric trucks and charging systems have made progress. As of 2023 and 2024, high fuel prices in California, hydrogen station withdrawals, consumer frustration, and weak adoption rates became increasingly evident. Toyota's hydrogen transportation strategy should shift from broad market creation to more limited business recovery, treating the fuel cell module as a specialized business with clear factual evidence thresholds and conducting direct cost comparisons with battery electric solutions.
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