Hyundai has become the world’s first car-maker producing mass production Fuel Cell vehicles with the ix35 Fuel Cell now coming down the line at the company’s plant in Ulsan, Korea.
Deliveries to European customers are now underway with initial shipments going to fleet customers in Denmark and Sweden. They’ll enjoy a driving range for the ix35 of 594 kilometres on a single charge.
The first 1000 Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cells are headed to Europe for Government and fleet buyers as the European Union has established a hydrogen road map with construction of hydrogen fuelling stations. Hyundai anticipates sales to retail customers from 2015.
It’s a significant step for the industry – assembly line production of fuel cell vehicles has until now been problematic but Hyundai has become the trend-setter.
The ix35 Fuel Cell features a new grille and fog-lights outside while inside is a revised ‘super vision’ instrument cluster and seven-inch GPS screen. The stats are impressive – as well as the 594kms range, the Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell has a top speed of 160km/h and covers zero to 100km/h in 12.5 seconds.
