Hyundai Motor said it planned to establish a production hub dedicated to hydrogen trucks and buses at its Jeonju commercial vehicle facility in South Korea, according to local reports.
The automaker wants to leverage its experience in hydrogen fuel cell technology to get a head start on other global manufacturers in the emerging global market for hydrogen powered commercial vehicles. It aims to head off the threat of fast rising competition from Chinese and European companies in the zero emissions commercial vehicle market.
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Hyundai began selling its Xcient hydrogen fuel cell heavy truck in 2021 in Switzerland. Earlier this month, it announced plans to roll out a new range of hydrogen trucks in the US in the second half of 2024, including car carriers and refrigerator trucks featuring twin 180 kilowatt (kW) hydrogen fuel cell stacks and 350kW drive motors providing a range of 400km. The company also plans to launch hydrogen buses next year.
Hyundai described the Jeonju plant as a highly automated, high tech truck and bus manufacturing plant equipped with cutting edge production equipment. It was understood to operate at just 40% of capacity, however, due to strong global competition. The plant currently produces conventional trucks and buses, the Staria minibus and battery powered versions of the County medium bus and the Porter EV light truck.
