17 August, 2017
Toyota, Honda and GM are also investing heavily in fuel cell technology but fuel cell cars are gaining less traction than electric vehicles, which can find charging stations more easily.
Hyundai has revealed sweeping plans to introduce a new range of electric vehicles including a dedicated battery-powered platform to take on the likes of Tesla.
It's a replacement for the Tucson Fuel Cell, and boasts an increase in efficiency level to 60%, up 9% over its predecessor.
Locally, Hyundai was the first auto company to permanently import a fuel cell electric vehicle, the ix35 Fuel Cell, and has agreed to supply 20 FE's to the ACT Government in late 2018 as part of the Hornsdale Windfarm Stage 3 project.
Hyundai unveiled a near production version of its new fuel cell SUV with a driving range of more than 800 km per charge under European standards, almost double the 415 km for its current Tucson fuel cell SUV.
But now the ix35 FCEV (Tucson) is about to bite the dust as Hyundai reveal their "New Generation" FCEV in Seoul in nearly production ready guise ahead of its arrival in early 2018. Maximum output is up 20% to 119kW and testing has confirmed the new fuel cell SUV can be started at -30 degrees Celsius.
This time round, it looks like the new FECV is a standalone SUV/Crossover design with a hint or three of the new Kona in its design (and clearly inspired by the Hyundai FE FCEV concept at Geneva this year), promising improved performance and improved range from Hyundai's fourth generation fuel stack.
Hyundai also claims to have made significant improvements in tank storage density through three equal-sized hydrogen tanks.
The automaker and affiliate Kia Motors Corp, which together rank fifth in global vehicle sales, also said they are planning 31 eco-friendly models by 2020, up from a previously flagged 28.
"Before that, Hyundai has no choice but to rely on battery cars", he said.
"Hyundai Motor plans to take a multi-pronged approach to its eco-vehicle program", it says.
Hyundai says it is working on the development of a front-engine, rear-drive fuel cell vehicle as well as a 4WD variant. Following the Genesis EV launch in 2021, it plans to unveil another long-range EV with a range of more than 500 kilometers after 2021.
Interestingly, Practical Motoring spied this fuel cell vehicle at Hyundai the other day when we collected our long-term i30 SR Premium.
