China doesn’t just lead the world’s electric vehicle (EV) market, it dominates it. Within a relatively short time, China’s BYD dethroned Tesla as the highest-volume EV automaker on the planet. Now, however, Toyota is warning that China’s EV market stranglehold might spill over into other areas.  

Toyota cautions that China’s EV dominance may just be the beginning 

I know, I know. There’s seldom a day when some politician, foreign policy expert, or industry analyst isn’t sharing some grim outlook about China. But this isn’t one of those times. It’s Toyota, the largest automaker by volume in the world. And the manufacturing titan has a warning of its own about China and the direction of the auto industry. 

Toyota’s head of the hydrogen operations, Misumasa Yamagata, had some choice words for the global auto industry outside of the People’s Republic. “We don’t have much time left – it’s important to accelerate quickly,” Yamagata said. But his warning isn’t that of war; it’s China extending its EV market dominance to monopolize another technology: hydrogen.

“China is the most advanced in the world for hydrogen trucks,” Yamagata said, per the Financial Times. The statement has that much more gravity when you compare the Chinese hydrogen vehicle industry to other markets. According to Electrek, China’s appetite for hydrogen fuel cell-powered trucks and buses accounted for over 7,000 vehicles. That’s more than all other hydrogen vehicle markets combined. 

As for the “why” behind the “what”, Toyota’s hydrogen chief says the Chinese government changed things. “The Chinese government ordered the turning of major logistics routes into hydrogen highways,” Yamagata said. Additionally, China is growing its hydrogen refuelling network, a vital move for increasing the volume of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) on the road. But Japan’s hydrogen refueling infrastructure is still much more robust than China’s.

That said, you’re likely racking your brain trying to remember the last time you saw a hydrogen-fueled FCEV on American streets. That’s because, unless you live in California, you almost certainly haven’t seen one. There are only three FCEVs currently on the market in the United States. Only one of those, the Mirai, is a Toyota. And, as mentioned, California is the only market for the three FCEVs.