Hyundai gets the jump on Japan with ix35 Fuel Cell

Hyundai appears set to pip Japanese competitors at the post with its announcement that its hydrogen powered ix35 (Tucson in the US) Fuel Cell SUV will go into production in February 2014.

The world’s first mass produced fuel cell vehicle will reach Hyundai showrooms in southern California mid-2014, with the Korean giant giving prospective early adopters impetus to take the plunge with a 36-month lease package for just $US499 a month (after a $US2999 deposit).

To help get them past the issues of potential fuelling costs and a comparative paucity of filling stations, the company is including free hydrogen fills for the money. The car will initially sell through four dealerships in the region, with more to follow alongside the roll-out of a refuelling network nationwide.

US media reports that there are currently just eight hydrogen filling stations in all Los Angeles, and just one in the Bay Area. But a $20 million state government cash injection will see a further 19 stations open across California’s two major metro areas over the next several years.

Customers will also gain access to the “At Your Service” valet maintenance program, currently restricted to buyers of the company’s high-end Equus model. When the ix35 Fuel Cell needs a service, the dealer picks it up, leaves the customer with a courtesy car and delivers it back afterwards.

Toyota used this week’s Tokyo motor show to unveil its next-gen Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV) Concept, saying it will start production late 2014. Almost simultaneously, Honda unveiled its FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle) concept at the Los Angeles show, all but admitting it will supplant the five year-old FCX Clarity in US and Japan markets in 2015.

The hydrogen fuel cell represents one of the auto industry’s great hopes, a win-win in overcoming the charge time and range problems dogging conventional electric vehicles while emitting nothing but water vapour from the tailpipe.

Hyundai is going all-out to sell the technology’s benefits. For the ix35 Fuel Cell, it’s claiming a driving range of up to 483km and a sub-10 minute full refuel time for its 5.6kg of hydrogen. With its 100kW electric motor turning on its full 299Nm of torque instantaneously, the company claims “minimal reduction in daily utility compared with its petrol counterpart”.

Incursion into passenger and cargo space by the fuel tank and lithium-polymer battery amounts to 15mm less rear legroom and 54 litres less cargo space.

With more than 3 million kilometres of durability testing behind it, Hyundai is claiming it’s highly reliable and suffers less at the hands of cold weather than battery EV systems.

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