Cars: Hyundai Betting Big on Fuel-Cell Powered Tuscon

Hyundai Betting Big on Fuel-Cell Powered Tuscon

Hyundaiwon’t be the first automaker to manufacture and sell a fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV), but it will be the first company to mass produce such a vehicle with the Tuscon FCEV, which will be available in 2015.

“One of our biggest FCEV differentiators for us is that Hyundai is the first automaker to launch assembly line production of a fuel-cell vehicle,” Derek Joyce, Hyundai’s manager of product public relations, toldCars.com.

Hyundai’s ultimate goal is to move around 10,000 fuel-cell powered Tuscons a year, but for the first year of sales, the company is aiming to sell 1,000 FCEVs.

Exact specifications are not yet available, but Hyundai estimates that the Tuscon FCEV will have a range of 369 miles and a combined fuel economy rating of 71 mpg.

One of the largest issues keeping more fuel-cell vehicles from becoming popular is infrastructure, and Hyundai is investing in that as well. A new initiative from the Energy Department called H2USA is a public-private partnership that is working on advancing hydrogen infrastructure in the U.S. Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Nissan are all part of the program, along with other automotive groups such as the American Gas Association and Association of Global Automakers.