Hyundai Motor Co. to ship 27 hydrogen Xcient trucks to 7 firms in Germany

Hyundai Motor Co. is poised to ship 27 of its Xcient Fuel Cell hydrogen trucks to seven German companies by the year’s end, following a similar sales contract to Switzerland.

The South Korean automotive manufacturer plans to export the hydrogen version of its popular Xcient truck to the rest of Europe; namely Austria, Denmark, France and the Netherlands. 

Previously, Hyundai Motor shipped 47 hydrogen Xcient trucks to 23 companies in Switzerland from 2020 to end-June of this year. 

The German firms will benefit from the federal government’s subsidies for environmentally friendly commercial vehicles, as part of Berlin’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions. 

While Berlin decided to gradually decrease its subsidies for electric vehicles starting next year, it will maintain such assistance for environmentally friendly commercial vehicles. 

To this end Hyundai Motor set up a sales branch solely dedicated to hydrogen-powered commercial cars, Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility Germany, in April. 

Germany boasts the highest number of commercial vehicle sales in Europe with 350,000 cars sold last year alone.

Weighing 42 metric tons, the hydrogen Xcient is equipped with a 180-kW hydrogen fuel cell system and two 90-kW fuel cell stacks. The 350-kW e-motor allows a maximum journey of 400 kilometers on a single charge. 

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.