Hyundai vs Toyota, Accelerating Competition for Global Hydrogen Economy Leadership

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] As the world expands new energy policies for 'carbon neutrality by 2025,' the competition between Hyundai Motor Company and Toyota for leadership in the global hydrogen economy is intensifying. After Hyundai secured the European hydrogen truck market, Toyota responded with hydrogen buses, and in the hydrogen passenger car sector, the recent launch of Toyota's new Mirai will lead to direct competition between the two companies' flagship models overseas.

According to industry sources on the 3rd, last month Toyota acquired shares in Portuguese bus manufacturer Caetano Bus and automotive financial services company Finlog. This equity investment aims to strengthen strategic alliances in the European hydrogen bus market and accelerate the spread of hydrogen mobility within Europe.

Caetano's hydrogen electric bus H2 City Gold equipped with Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell system / Photo by Toyota

Hyundai Secures Hydrogen Truck Market... Toyota Responds with Hydrogen Buses

Toyota is already supplying Caetano with hydrogen buses that have a driving range of 400 km, and through this investment, plans to increase hydrogen bus supply locally in Europe and introduce bus financial leasing services. Toyota's move to secure the hydrogen bus market comes amid recent European countries strengthening eco-friendly mobility promotion policies, with expectations that hydrogen vehicle adoption will rapidly expand, especially in the commercial vehicle sector. Toyota aims to dominate the European hydrogen commercial vehicle market by focusing on hydrogen buses instead of the hydrogen trucks Hyundai has secured.

In the hydrogen truck sector, Hyundai succeeded in mass-producing hydrogen trucks last July and has already exported them to Switzerland, securing the market. Hyundai established a joint venture with Swiss hydrogen solution company 'H2 Energy' and plans to supply 1,600 hydrogen heavy-duty trucks by 2025. Beyond truck supply, Hyundai plans to create a vast hydrogen heavy-duty truck ecosystem through close collaboration with hydrogen producers, complex chain distribution and logistics companies (clients), and the hydrogen mobility association (for hydrogen refueling station construction).

After Hyundai claimed the 'world's first' title in building the European hydrogen truck market and ecosystem, Toyota also established a global hydrogen fuel cell headquarters, the 'Fuel Cell Business Group,' in Europe earlier this month. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, the new entity will not only handle hydrogen vehicle sales but also coordinate collaborations with governments, institutions, and companies in various countries to manage all aspects of the hydrogen economy. Additionally, Toyota recently unveiled a hydrogen truck prototype developed jointly with local American truck manufacturer Kenworth, pursuing an expansion strategy in the truck sector as well.

Toyota 2nd Generation Hydrogen Electric Vehicle Mirai

Toyota’s 2nd Generation Mirai Enters Full Competition with Hyundai’s Nexo

In the hydrogen passenger car market, the launch of Toyota’s 2nd generation Mirai this month is expected to intensify overseas competition between the two companies’ flagship models. Although Toyota’s full model change came about three years later, the current specifications give Mirai an advantage. Compared to Hyundai’s Nexo, Mirai offers approximately 40 km longer driving range (based on U.S. certification standards) and is about 15% cheaper.

In response, Hyundai plans to release a successor to the Nexo equipped with a next-generation hydrogen fuel cell system within the next 3 to 4 years. Hyundai’s next-generation hydrogen fuel cell system focuses on improving performance, durability, and cost, and is expected to lead the popularization of hydrogen electric vehicles.

Kim Se-hoon, Vice President and Head of Hyundai’s Fuel Cell Business Division, said, "The next-generation hydrogen fuel cell system will have price competitiveness and will be used in a wider range of fields. The high-durability, high-output system developed based on this will be applied to commercial vehicles such as heavy-duty trucks, while the lightweight, high-performance system is being developed for application in flying vehicles such as UAM (Urban Air Mobility)."

Hyundai Motor Company's hydrogen electric vehicle Nexo

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.