The hydrogen car never stood a chance. The Hindenburg poisoned hydrogen as a transport fuel and even 100 years later questions of safety were usually the first ones asked, even before any relevant gains from hydrogen.

EVs are better than any combustion or hybrid due to the drastically simplified power train and reduced part count. Toyota didn’t want to lose their sunk costs in transmissions, fuel delivery systems, etc. but they were fighting the future instead of embracing it.