Hyundai unveils new fuel cell SUV with 580-km range

Hyundai Motor says its hydrogen fuel cell vehicle will offer over 580 kilometers (360 miles) between fill-ups.

According to the South Korean company, its second-generation fuel-cell SUV will be launched early next year. If it were to deliver as claimed, Hyundai's upcoming fuel cell vehicle will travel 40 per cent farther than its first generation fuel cell SUV, the Tucson ix FCEV, launched in 2013.

Fuel cell cars are emission-free like pure electric cars and can be refuelled in two to three minutes unlike electric vehicles that take several hours to fully recharge. However, the paucity of hydrogen fuelling stations is an obstacle for mass adoption.

Toyota, Honda and General Motors are also making huge investments in fuel cell technology though cars have not been able to appeal to customers due to sparse availability of charging stations.

South Korea plans to increase the number of hydrogen fuelling stations from 16 stations this year to 100 stations by 2020 to boost fuel cell vehicle sales. It is planning to have 10,000 fuel cell vehicles on its roads by 2020 under its plans to tackle air pollution, its environmental ministry said in March.

"Hyundai will achieve economies of scale for fuel cell cars by 2035 at the earliest," said Lee Hang-koo, a senior research fellow at Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade, Reuters reported.

"Before that, Hyundai has no choice but to rely on battery cars," he said.

In 2013, Hyundai launched the world's first mass-produced fuel cell vehicle the Tucson Fuel Cell, but sales lagged Toyota's rival offering, Mirai.

Hyundai has logged sales of 862 of Tucson Fuel Cell vehicles since its 2013 launch, while Toyota sold around 3,700 Mirai Fuel Cell vehicles since its 2014 launch.