Next Hyundai Nexo hydrogen car launch faces delays

New reports suggest that issues with the development of the fuel cell are holding things back. Hyundai’s upgraded hydrogen car, the Nexo SUV, won’t be launched until 2024, according to new reports, as the automaker has been struggling with fuel cell development issues. The problems the automaker has reportedly faced are enough to push its launch to a later date. A South Korean newspaper citing the supplier industry was the first to report on this news, which has yet to be officially confirmed by Hyundai. This works against the company’s strategy to move ahead with its hydrogen car release on…

New reports suggest that issues with the development of the fuel cell are holding things back.

Hyundai’s upgraded hydrogen car, the Nexo SUV, won’t be launched until 2024, according to new reports, as the automaker has been struggling with fuel cell development issues.

The problems the automaker has reportedly faced are enough to push its launch to a later date.

A South Korean newspaper citing the supplier industry was the first to report on this news, which has yet to be officially confirmed by Hyundai. This works against the company’s strategy to move ahead with its hydrogen car release on a much larger scale.   Hyundai had intended to begin the mass production and sale of its Nexo SUV later in 2022. However, it will be postponing that release, production and sale until 2024, said the report in Seoul Economic Daily as cited in an autonews.com article. The last model of the vehicle was launched in 2018, and the automaker had every intention to being the next version out before the close of this year.

The report also said the hydrogen cars from Hyundai’s premium Genesis brand are unknown.

The launch schedule for the fuel cell vehicles Hyundai intends to roll out under its premium Genesis brand has yet to be determined. The project will be the first to develop fuel cell vehicles under the brand and was suspended for an unknown length of time near the end of 2021.[aweber listid="6179904" formid="497551345" formtype="webform"] From January through May 2022, Hyundai sold 3,978 Nexo SUVs in South Korea, according to the automaker’s own sales data. Last September, Hyundai Motor Group, which encapsulates Hyundai and Genesis as well as Kia, announced that it would be providing fuel cell offerings for all its commercial vehicles by 2028. It also stated that it would be developing the technology for its Kia and Genesis lines for launch at some point after 2025. According to analysts, the automaker will be particularly reevaluating its hydrogen car business due to the slow growth of the H2 passenger vehicle market and because it must also focus on transitioning toward battery electrics. “With the growing global EV market, it would be likely that Hyundai could be reassessing its priority list as demand for EVs continues to grow, while the market for hydrogen cars still remains relatively small,” said NH Investment & Securities Co Soo-hong as quoted in the article.