Cabify continues with its plan to have mobility that flees from the combustion car. Or, at least, for a part of the company, since the efforts to have a green platform have gone to the vehicles that are directly owned by its subsidiary Vecttor. In this context, the Spanish unicorn presents, once again, an agreement with another car manufacturer. In this case, with some novelties. Hand in hand with Toyota, with the Toyota Mirai, Cabify has added four models from the range of hydrogen cars to the Vecttor fleet –the VTC vehicles that operate directly to teach him–.
Available through the Cabify Eco category, the technology company points to this announcement as a pioneering measure in the VTC business. These are the first VTC hydrogen cars in the sector; some that join the electric Renault – of Chinese origin and through a subscription model – that they announced a month ago after the credit of 40 million euros of European origin that they achieved for investment in electrification. Only for the business division and with the investment for its internal fleets. Open, yes, to third-party cars that meet the minimums of the plan.
In this way, Cabify now has 44 newly minted vehicles. 40 electric cars from Renault and another 4 hydrogen cars with Toyota Mirai. On the global figures of the company, data is not yet available. The Spanish brand does not publish the data on how the service that they have conceived as 100% green evolves.
The Community of Madrid behind this green Toyota model
It is not a surprise that Cabify has looked to Toyota for a partner to increase its fleet of electric vehicles. The Japanese firm has been one of the favorite brands for the taxi and VTC sector. On the side of the hybrid model of the Prius, it is, to date, one of the fetish brands among those that are allowed as a form of public-private transport. It complies with the ECO label regulations that these cars must comply with.
For the division of hydrogen cars, Toyota also has the approval of the Administrations. In fact, the Community of Madrid approved in March of this year the Toyota Mirai as the first electric car enabled to operate as a taxi in the capital. Something that the Japanese firm was already clear about: from the moment of its presentation, this hydrogen car was designed to opt for passenger transport rather than for private use.
And it is that the options of hydrogen cars are rather few. The list is reduced to a whopping two models on the market. The Toyota Mirai, which starts at 70,000 euros and the Hyundai NEXO which is around 73,450 euros. With a range that exceeds 600 km on average, and a charging time of about 5 minutes per refueling, they are certainly expensive models for the passenger transport market. On the table, the promise of new models from BMW, Hopium and Jaguar that aim to be on the market in the coming months.
On the table also a more than safe exit to Toyota’s hydrogen cars. The aid program of the Community of Madrid, originating from the European Funds, takes into account both the hydrogen car and the VTC. With a 10% discount (which can mean up to 7,000 euros) on the final purchase price -which includes individuals and companies of the sector – the Institution Governed by Isabel Díaz Ayuso seeks to increase the fleet of these vehicles from 0 to 1,000 in the coming months for both taxis and VTC. Since the only authorized signature is, effectively, Toyota’s hydrogen car, we have a winner.
The craze of hydrogen cars
While it is true that a hydrogen car is better than any combustion car, it is not a panacea in the world of transportation. The CEO of Honda himself, who had already presented a hydrogen car prototype at the time, withdrew from the race alleging that he did not understand Toyota’s insistence on this model. Why? the middle way that supposes to create a vehicle of this type.
It is true that moving the vehicle is “green”, but not the path to take to get there. According to industry data, published by Transportation & Environment, the efficiency of a hydrogen car is 30% on average. That of a combustion car by 13%. If we go to the ecosystem of electric cars, we reach 77%.
With the advantage of load dynamics, similar to combustion cars, we find its biggest Achilles’ heel: the load points. Cabify, in this case, will operate its 4 hydrogen cars in Madrid. There is only one charging point to date in the capital, on Avenida de Manoteras to the north of the city owned by Enagas, and with no plans to open any new ones. Taking into account the cost of opening a new point –approximately over a million euros– and the low demand, it does not seem like a viable project in the short term.
To this is added the production process of the “gasoline” of these hydrogen cars. Obtained through electrolysis –separation of oxygen and hydrogen–, to date it is still a long and expensive process. Not only in cost, but also in energy and water consumption to obtain the charging element.
Is the hydrogen car the future of Cabify and the VTC? It is not entirely clear and, so far, the charging options – or rather, the only option – distance this model from an economy of scale for a sector with almost 16,000 taxis and more than 8,000 VTC in the hands of the different companies. technological. With data from October 2021, there were only 15 vehicles of this type registered in Spain, with the transport of goods or even airplanes being the most viable future for this green model. And it is that, with only 4 cars in circulation, the problem is minimal. for now