Hydrogen Car Market Doubles in Size, Half Owned by Hyundai Motor... 1st Place for 3 Consecutive Years

Last Year Hydrogen Vehicle Sales 17,400 Units
83% Growth Compared to Previous Year

2021 Global Hydrogen Vehicle Sales Status

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Last year, global hydrogen vehicle sales nearly doubled from the previous year, reaching 17,400 units. Hyundai Motor Company’s market share exceeded half at 53.5%.

According to data released on the 8th by market research firm SNE Research, the number of hydrogen vehicles registered worldwide increased by about 83%, from 9,500 units in 2020 to 17,400 units last year. Hyundai sold 9,300 hydrogen vehicles last year, mainly the Nexo. Although the number of units sold increased compared to 6,500 units the previous year, its market share declined. Hyundai’s hydrogen vehicle market share was 69.0% in 2020 but dropped by about 15 percentage points last year. Hyundai maintained the top position for three consecutive years since 2019.

The second place was Toyota, which sold 5,900 units. Toyota’s second-generation Mirai model led the growth of both Toyota and the overall hydrogen vehicle market. Toyota’s hydrogen vehicle market share doubled from 17% in 2020 to 34% last year. The combined market share of Hyundai and Toyota, both offering passenger models, solidified their duopoly at 87.7% last year.

The third place was Chinese commercial vehicle brand Foton, and fourth was Honda. They were estimated to have sold about 400 and 300 units, respectively. The first and second rankings remained the same, but the third and fourth positions swapped compared to last year. Honda halted hydrogen vehicle production last year due to profitability deterioration and other reasons. Meanwhile, sales by other manufacturers are estimated to have increased from about 1,000 to 1,500 units during the same period.

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