BMW, Honda and Hyundai (& Toyota) all still think hydrogen cars are the next big thing - here's why

[orthoclad]

9. Not a gimmick

Most cars spend a majority of their time sitting outside. Why not harvest the free energy available?

One the things that worries me most about heavy quick-charging batteries is the huge instantaneous load they'll place on the grid. It's not really so noticeable now, but imagine when a hundred million cars connect to the grid for a fast boost of kiloWatthours to their massive long-range batteries. The demand will cause grid failures.

Every kiloWatthour harvested directly from sunlight at the car is a benefit to the grid.

The Sion is a standard box-on-wheels sedan with PV panels on the roof and sides. It might be more suitable for families, but it's not nearly as efficient as the Aptera, which is the first radical change in car design since the 1880s.

Maintenance costs should be near zero, mainly just replacing wiper fluid.There is no massive transmission or gearing; the motors are in the wheel hubs, giving both simplicity of design and low center of gravity. They use off-the-shelf electronic controllers, easily replaceable.

I'd love to see the company offer a "flex-fuel" option, with H fuel cells in the capacious cargo area. Combine small battery, solar charging, and H for triple redundancy.

I just hope it doesn't turn into vaporware. Been in development a very long time. Of course, all the development capital goes into huge BEV batteries for box-on-wheels SUVs and pickups.