This file photo provided by Hyundai Motor shows the Nexo hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle.
SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. topped the global hydrogen vehicle sales in the first nine months of the year on rising demand for the Nexo model, data showed Monday.
In the first nine months, Hyundai Motor sold a total of 4,917 hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, accounting for 74 percent of the global hydrogen car market, according to data from local market research firm SNE Research.
Toyota Motors Corp. ranked second with a share of 11.5 percent, or 767 vehicles, while Honda Motor Co. ranked third with a 2.8 percent share, or 187 units, the data showed.
Hyundai began to sell the Nexo hydrogen model in the local market in March 2018 to take the leadership position in hydrogen mobility technology.
This year, Hyundai aims to sell 10,100 Nexos in Korea, mainly to public organizations and companies, more than doubling from the 4,194 units it sold last year.
From January to November, Hyundai sold 5,453 Nexos in the domestic market, achieving 54 percent of its annual target. Separately, it shipped 6,318 Nexos during the same period.
On top of hydrogen passenger cars, Hyundai plans to develop more hydrogen commercial vehicles, such as trucks and buses, to cement its leading position in hydrogen vehicles.
Hyundai aims to build a production facility capable of rolling out 50,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles a year by 2030. It also targets selling 200,000 hydrogen fuel cell systems a year in global markets by the same year.
Hyundai recently started to export hydrogen trucks and buses, paving the way for further shipments of the eco-friendly vehicles.
(Yonhap)
