First hydrogen trucks of Hyundai Motor Company are delivered

As Hyundai Motor Company has delivered its large hydrogen-powered trucks that were mass-manufactured for the first time in the world to European customers, the company is accelerating its entrance to the environment-friendly commercial car market in Europe. Hyundai Motor Company plans to supply over 25,000 hydrogen-powered trucks to the European market by 2030.

Hyundai Motor Company announced on Thursday that the company held a ceremony in Lucerne, Switzerland to celebrate the delivery of hydrogen-powered Xcient trucks on Wednesday (local time) shipping its trucks to seven locations, including major grocery chains and logistics companies in Switzerland, such as Coop and Migros.

The South Korean auto manufacturer exported 10 Xcient trucks to Switzerland from the Port of Gwangyang in South Jeolla Province in July. Seven of them, which were equipped with a cargo box, were first delivered on the day of the ceremony while the remaining three trucks will be delivered at the end of this month.

Hydrogen-powered cars, which generate electricity using hydrogen and are run with the electricity, are more favored in the commercial car field, such as large trucks, as environment-friendly cars compared to pure electric cars as it is more efficient to increase the size of the hydrogen tank in the hydrogen car, rather than increasing the battery size of the electric car.

Hyundai Motor Company will export additional 40 hydrogen-powered trucks to Switzerland, which has a plan to build 100 hydrogen charging stations to promote the hydrogen market, by the end of this year. The auto manufacturer has been working with the H2 Mobility Switzerland Association and other relevant companies since last year to build an ecosystem for large hydrogen-powered trucks, in which the supply of cars, hydrogen charging, and hydrogen production are organically interconnected.

Hyundai Motor Company also has a plan to expand its hydrogen-powered truck market to not only Europe but also North America and China. In Europe, the company will expand its supply to Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, and Austria, following Switzerland. Its targets for hydrogen-powered truck supply to the European market are 1,600 units by 2025 and over 25,000 units by 2030.


Do-Hyong Kim dodo@donga.com