The hydrogen fuel cell passenger car (FCEV) market, which was divided by Hyundai Motor’s Nexo and Toyota Mirai, is undergoing a transformation. Toyota launched the «Crown» hydrogen model last year, increasing the number of hydrogen car models to two types, while Hyundai Motor will launch the second-generation Nexo model in the first half of this year. China, the largest market for commercial hydrogen vehicles, is also making efforts to grow the hydrogen vehicle market.
According to the industry on the 13th, the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle market, which had recently slowed down, has reached a new starting point, focusing on the launch of new models and the 3rd generation hydrogen fuel cell system. It has been more than 10 years since Hyundai Motor launched the world’s first mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell vehicle «Tucson ix FCEV» in 2013, and Toyota launched its first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle Mirai in 2014, the following year.
Toyota has been making aggressive moves recently. Toyota introduced a second-generation model that increased vehicle class and increased mileage in 2020. In early 2024, four years later, the Crown Hydrogen model was launched. Unlike the previous model that only introduced hydrogen cars, it made it possible to select a hydrogen fuel cell model along with an internal combustion engine and a hybrid power train in the traditional model that has continued 16 generations.
Hyundai Motor, which has not released new cars or changed generations since the first generation of Nexo in 2018, is also fighting back sales with the second generation of Nexo this year.
According to SNE Research, an energy market research firm, Hyundai Motor ranked first in the global market last year by selling a total of 3,836 units with Nexo and hydrogen bus «Electacity.» However, sales fell 23.5% year-on-year. Analysts say that Nexo’s new car has not been released, leading to sluggish domestic demand. In response, Hyundai Motor unveiled the concept car of the second generation of Nexo in October last year.
While the hydrogen car market has stagnated, China has been increasing sales of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, mainly commercial vehicles. China sold 7,113 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles last year, accounting for 55.3 percent of global hydrogen vehicle sales.
Hyundai Motor and Toyota have been competing in the hydrogen car market for 10 years, but they are also strengthening cooperation as the market itself needs to grow. Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun and Toyota Group Chairman Akio Toyoda have been meeting since the «2024 World Rally Championship» held at Toyota Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, in November last year. Hyundai Motor Group has unveiled its hydrogen value chain business brand ‘HTWO’ in 2024.
[Reporter Park Jewan in Kobe]
Source: mk.co.kr
