Hyundai Motor is delaying the launch of its hydrogen car, upgraded hydrogen-powered car – Nexo SUV. The reason is that there are some issues with the fuel cell development. Initially, the plan was to launch the car by mid-2023. However, now it is being postponed to 2024. The first model, Nexo was launched in 2018.
Furthermore, the report also said the launch schedule for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles at Hyundai Motor’s premium brand Genesis had not been decided yet, as the project to develop the first Genesis brand fuel cell vehicles was suspended late last year. Hyundai sold 3,978 Nexos in South Korea and exported 120 between January and May this year, according to the company’s sales data.
In September, Hyundai Motor Group, which houses Hyundai Motor, Kia, and Genesis, announced plans to offer hydrogen fuel cell versions for all its commercial vehicles by 2028, adding it would develop fuel cell vehicles for Kia and Genesis that could be launched after 2025.
Analysts said Hyundai would be reevaluating its hydrogen fuel cell business, especially for passenger cars, because of the slow growth of the hydrogen fuel cell car market and the need to focus on the transition to electric vehicles.
Assessing EV demand
“With the growing global EV market, it would be likely that Hyundai could be reassessing its priority list as demand for EVs continues to grow, while the market for hydrogen cars still remains relatively small,” said Co Soo-hong, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities.
Hyundai Motor Group has been developing related technologies through mass-producing FCEVs for the first time in the world in 2013 and constantly unveiling a number of FCEV concepts. The Group continuously developed and supplied hydrogen buses through collaboration with the central and local governments. Also, Hyundai Motor Group mass-produced large-sized hydrogen trucks for the first time in the world, exporting them to Europe. In the future, Hyundai Motor Group plans to utilize hydrogen fuel cells in Urban Air Mobility (UAM), large vessels, and railways. We are actively creating hydrogen charging infrastructures to expand the FCEV market.
FCEV is powered by electricity generated from the electrochemical reactions between hydrogen dispensed into FCEV hydrogen tanks, and oxygen. Because FCEV is powered by electricity generated from the electrochemical reactions between hydrogen and oxygen, the only byproduct is pure, distilled water.
Fuel cell system that generates the electricity needed to drive is also called a ‘tertiary battery’. Fuel cells convert thermal energy into electrical energy, using the chemical reaction between oxygen and hydrogen.