Hyundai Motor’s cumulative global Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) sales have surpassed 40,000 units, combining personal and commercial vehicles. Hyundai’s efforts to expand its hydrogen car line are gradually bearing fruit. The company plans to accelerate sales of hydrogen cars by introducing a successor to the Nexo, a hydrogen passenger car, next year.
According to industry sources, on June 30, Hyundai’s global hydrogen car sales reached 44,465 units by the end of May 2024, breaking the 40,000 mark. Of these, sales in South Korea were 35,820 units, while overseas sales were 4,645 units. By model, 39,510 units were personal cars, and 955 were commercial vehicles.
Hyundai has launched four types of hydrogen vehicles: two personal and two commercial. In 2013, Hyundai was the first in the world to successfully commercialize a Tucson-based hydrogen car (Tucson ix35 Hydrogen Car). In 2018, it unveiled the second-generation hydrogen car, Nexo, which significantly improved its marketability. In 2020, the company also began selling Elec City hydrogen buses and Xcient hydrogen trucks.
The Nexo is the best-selling hydrogen car model as a total of 38,594 units were sold worldwide. It has been evaluated as a successful model, enjoying popularity to the point of not losing the top spot in the world each year. It even surpassed Toyota’s hydrogen car, Mirai, until 2023. The driving distance per charge of the Nexo is around 378 miles based on South Korea’s standards, which is much further than electric vehicles in the same price range. The charging time is about 5 minutes, and it only emits water instead of pollutants. The localization rate of hydrogen fuel cell-specific parts is 99%, indicating that the technology has been secured.
Hyundai Motor President Chang Jae Hoon met with reporters at the Busan Mobility Show Press Day on June 27 and said, “The successor to the Nexo will come out next year,” adding, “We will significantly increase commercial vehicles such as hydrogen buses and hydrogen trucks.”
