Jos van Stratum is the first Dutchman to trade in used hydrogen cars. In this way he hopes to achieve the breakthrough of this technique. Is the timing of this pioneer perfect or does it only carry water (dust) to the sea?
Van Stratum fell under the spell of hydrogen in 2005 when he read an article about the operation of a fuel cell. In a fuel cell, the chemical energy of hydrogen and oxygen is converted into electricity that drives electric motors. “I immediately knew: that is the future,” says Van Stratum. He joined the association twelve years ago, which has since grown into the NWBA, the Dutch Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association. In 2014 he took over a hydrogen filling station in Arnhem.
Purchase
He did not have a hydrogen car at the time, although Toyota had introduced the Mirai hydrogen car in December of that year. The purchase had the necessary feet. Only when then Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Sharon Dijksma started driving one, type approval came. “I was there like the chicken, but I had to convince Toyota that I was a suitable buyer. My membership in NWBA and the fact that I had a gas station were enough for that,” said Van Stratum.
i8?
How the Mirai became a business model for the Eindhoven citizen was due to a small error. Due to the shortage of hydrogen cars, Van Stratum decided to sell his petrol station in Arnhem. For a moment Van Stratum thought that he also wanted to lose his Mirai and he decided to inquire about the trade-in options on a BMW i8. “The seller was not sure what to do with the Mirai. He found no target price anywhere. When he also searched online in Germany and Japan, I saw that there were quite a few Mirais for sale.”
Instead of selling his Mirai, Van Stratum bought a Mirai. And another one. And another one. Until he had a collection of 33 used models from Germany and Japan in his showroom in Eindhoven. And now he is determined to let the Dutch occasion buyer close the Mirai in the heart.
Nine sold
He has now been able to sell nine Mirais. Six of these went to a taxi company in The Hague, which cleverly responded to the demand for zero-emission taxi transport. One Mirai went to a technical school that will use the Toyota as a student study object, one company bought a Mirai for promotional purposes.
And the private customer, does he embrace the Mirai? “I have sold one to a very satisfied private individual so far,” confesses Van Stratum, who is confident that demand will increase rapidly with infrastructure improvements. “I think it’s a fantastic car. You don’t pay road tax, zero bpm, the insurance is the same price as a mid-range petrol engine, and a full tank of hydrogen doesn’t cost much more than a tank of petrol. I can see it happen that 100,000 hydrogen vehicles will be driving around in five years. “
This article is from the Techzle Occasions-special 2020. Who order? Which can here(number 145).