Hyundai Hydrogen Cars To Be Rolled Out

Published Date: 22nd Jul 2013

Hyundai’s plans to be the world leader in Hydrogen powered vehicles seems to well under way. The first car they will roll-out with be the new Hydrogen Powered Hyundai IX35 expected later this year. The first of such cars is part of Hyundai’s target to build 1000 hydrogen powered cars by 2015.

The initial hydrogen vehicles will allow Hyundai to learn lessons and further develop the technology, within a few years Hyundai hope to be producing 10,000 hyrdogen powered cars yearly with Hyundai already testing the market and talking to a number of fleet and leasing companies about the possibility of using hydrogen powered vehicles.

In terms of running costs a hydrogen powered car should cost around the same as conventional fuelled vehicles, however there are very few places at the moment to refuel a hydrogen powered car. The government is planning to work hard in partnership with the motor industry to open what are likely to be standalone hydrogen filling stations initially with mainstream petrol stations expected to add hydrogen filling facilities as the number of such vehicles on UK roads grows.

Of course there are going to be other pros and cons to buying a hydrogen powered car, initially as already mentioned filling stations will be few and far between until the technology takes off but there will be big environmental benefits as they offer the same zero CO2 emissions that you’d get from a full electric vehicle like the new electric Nissan Leaf but with the range and performance of conventional petrol or diesel cars. The Hydrogen fuel tanks are considerable in size however and there will probably be some compromise on boot space to accommodate them. 

Initially as you’d expect with new technology, hydrogen vehicles will be more expensive that conventional cars but they should appeal to large companies and organisations whose image and commitment is an environmentally friendly one, with the draw of a drastically reduced carbon footprint.