Toyota isn't giving up on hydrogen technology in spite of new EV focus

With long-time CEO Akio Toyoda nearly out of the picture, Toyota is shifting its focus to developing more electric vehicles. However, the firm has invested a considerable amount of resources into hydrogen technology, and it stressed that it's not about to mothball its investment.

"We want to ensure that hydrogen stays a viable option," incoming CEO Koji Sato told industry trade journal Automotive News.

Making hydrogen — whether it's burned in an internal-combustion engine or used to generate electricity — a viable option to gasoline, diesel, and electricity is easier said than done. Sato recognized that a production and transport supply chain is required to put more hydrogen-powered vehicles on the road, and the lack of an infrastructure in pretty much every nation remains a significant hurdle.

"Unless we see evolution there, we cannot expect a volume increase in the energy's use," he explained to Automotive News.