Hyundai hydrogen sports sedan teased

August 28, 2021September 5, 2021 EV Central team 1799 Views

A fuel-cell electric sports sedan will be the star attraction of a major Hyundai Motor Group event promoting hydrogen.

Dubbed Hydrogen Wave, the September 7 ‘forum’ will also feature a hydrogen-electric semi-trailer.

HMG – the parent of Hyundai, Kia and Genesis – says it will present its plans for a new ‘wave’ of hydrogen-based products and technologies at the event.

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Both the sports car and truck are previewed in brief videos issued with the announcement of Hydrogen Wave, which will also provide a “revealing” insight into HMG’s future vision of a sustainable hydrogen society.

Hydrogen is recognised as having distinct advantages for electrified transport the larger the vehicle gets, so the truck teaser makes perfect sense. In fact, Hyundai already delivered some FCEV trucks to customers and in Australia the company has nominated FCEV as a viable long term powertrain replacement for diesel-powered vehicles.

But the sports sedan is something of a surprise, appearing to be a similar size to the hugely popular Tesla Model 3 battery electric vehicle. Hyundai has said its N performance division will develop both BEV and FCEV vehicles in the future.

“State-of-the-art future fuel cell electric vehicles – as well as other innovative applications – will be unveiled during the forum,” an HMG press release promised.

“Cutting-edge hydrogen application systems and products from the Group’s affiliates will also be presented at the exhibition, further showcasing and detailing how a hydrogen society can be formed and realised.”

The digitally-created sports sedan is shown drifting around a test-track corner leaving black marks from its rear tyres, suggesting it is rear-wheel drive.

It is also shown from the rear, flashing past the camera and rapidly disappearing into the distance.

A side-on close-up of the front-end reveals a sloping bonnet, a large alloy wheel, low-profile rubber and raked A-pillar.

The caption reads: “Hydrogen, it’s full on towards the future”.

The soundtrack undeniably makes clear propulsion is electric, meaning it uses a fuel cell stack to convert hydrogen into electricity and water.

The latter is shown splashing over a snail track-side.

Hyundai hydrogen truck teaser — Look closely… there’s a tiny truck on that bridge

The truck video-caption reads: “With a single charge of hydrogen, a long journey of freight begins.”

The close up of the side of the truck shows the “I+I HTWO” logo for Hyundai’s recently established fuel cell business.

The video pans along the side of the truck, showing three hydrogen tanks sitting between the wheels. It is then shown in the far distance crossing a bridge.

Hyundai has stuck with devloping hydrogen as a fuel source for decades, along with others including Toyota, Honda and BMW. There’s veen an Australian brand, H2X, that wants to launch a Ford Ranger-based hydrogen ute next year.

So far, hydrogen has been held back from being used widely by a lack of refuelling infrastructure.

Hyundai does have a limited number of FCEV Nexo SUVs in Australia, recently adding five to the Queensland government fleet for testing.

Hyundai also focusses on battery electric vehicle development. In Australia it will soon launch the eagerly anticipated Ioniq 5.

Kia will launch the EV6 BEV soon, while Genesis has revealed its first BEV, the GV60 SUV. Like the Ioniq 5, they are based on HMG’s new E-GMP EV architecture.

The forum, which is exclusively online, starts on September 7 at 15:00 KST (16:00 AEST). It will be live streamed via Hyundai here – and we’ll be covering it on EVcentral. It will be open to industry, media and the wider public.

HMG has also launched a microsite that provides a glimpse of future hydrogen products and technologies that will be unveiled at Hydrogen Wave.

Following the online forum, an exhibition will take place in Goyang, South Korea, from September 8 to 11.