Over 1,000 Hyundai hydrogen buses sold since 2019

The automaker has a target of selling 21,200 units before the close of 2030

Korean automaker Hyundai has announced that it has reached an important milestone after having sold more than 1,000 of its hydrogen buses since the Elec City FCEV model first launched back in 2019.

The vehicle was the first H2-powered city public transport model in the world

Earlier this month, the company shared that as of the close of September, it had actually sold 1,032 of the 180kW hydrogen buses.  The vehicles boast a range of up to 550 kilometers on a full tank.  It is meant for use in conventional transit routes as well as those with certain characteristics that would make those routes challenging to battery electric vehicles.  According to the company, they are “suitable for routes with heavy-traffic, long-distance routes, and routes with steep inclines, where electricity consumption is high.” In April, Hyundai announced its intentions to boost its manufacturing capacity for the vehicles at its factories in Jeonju.  The facilities in the Korean city would see a rise from the current capacity of 500 units to a much more ambitious 3,000 units.

The Korean government is increasing subsidies for hydrogen buses

Many have speculated that the South Korean governments increase to the subsidies for H2 transit vehicles from 700 units last year to 1,720 this year is behind the automaker’s decision to ramp up production. Each Elec City unit costs between 700 million and 800 million Korean won (which is about $520,000 to $594,000).  That said, subsidies at local and national government levels in Jeonju, Korea reach about 300 million won per vehicle.

New plans

In September, the South Korean government announced an updated national target to put 21,200 hydrogen buses on the roads across the country by the end of the decade. As the current total number of H2-powered buses in the country is 1,185, this presents a substantial demand for local H2 automakers like Hyundai to try to fill. South Korea is also seeking “to replace 25% of all metropolitan buses with hydrogen buses by 2030,” according to a news release by the country’s Ministry of Environment. “Intercity buses, along with city and charter buses, are the main targets for conversion.”