Hyundai has launched its Xcient Fuel Cell truck in Europe and has already delivered the first seven units to customers in Switzerland. Described as the world’s first mass-produced fuel cell electric heavy-duty truck, the Xcient heralds Hyundai’s commercial truck expansion to global markets. The delivery of the first Xcient trucks marks the official entry of Hyundai’s truck division in Europe, with the North American and Chinese markets to follow.
The seven units delivered to customers in
Switzerland are part of a larger batch of 50 units that will hit the roads
there later this year. In total, Hyundai expects to supply 1,600 commercial
fuel cell trucks in Europe by 2025. By 2021, Hyundai says it will be able to
build 2,000 Xcient fuel cell trucks per year to support the expansion into
Europe, the U.S. and China. The capacity increase will be made possible by a
$1.3 billion investment in addition to a previously announced US$ 6.4 billion
stake in establishing a hydrogen ecosystem to support the creation of a
hydrogen society.
The 9,475-mm long Hyundai Xcient
is powered by a 255-HP hydrogen fuel cell system with dual 127 HP fuel cell stacks. Seven large hydrogen tanks offer a
combined storage capacity of around 32.09 kg of hydrogen. The
driving range is about 400 km, with a refueling time of
approximately 8-20 minutes.
Speaking of refueling, Hyundai says it has
a business case for more than 100 hydrogen fueling stations in Switzerland,
which is enough not only for commercial vehicles, but also passenger fuel cell
electric vehicles. As for Hyundai’s U.S. expansion plans, the company will
offer a production version of the HDC-6 Neptune Concept Class 8 heavy-duty
truck and a 6×4 tractor model, with targeted sales of 12,000 fuel cell trucks
by 2030. In China, Hyundai will offer three fuel cell electric trucks: a
medium-duty truck and a heavy-duty truck in 2022, as well as another heavy-duty
truck “strategically designed for the China market” later on. Hyundai’s target
is to achieve combined sales of 27,000 units in China by 2030.
