Hyundai Motor Company Launches Domestic Sales of Xcient Hydrogen Electric Trucks

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Hyundai Motor Company announced on the 8th that it will begin domestic sales of the XCIENT Fuel Cell hydrogen electric truck.

The XCIENT Fuel Cell hydrogen electric truck is the world's first mass-produced large hydrogen electric truck by Hyundai Motor. It has been consecutively supplied to major global markets such as Switzerland and Germany, gaining recognition for its eco-friendliness and excellent technology.

In October this year, it achieved the record of being the world's first and only mass-produced large hydrogen electric truck to surpass a cumulative driving distance of 5 million kilometers within two years since it began operation in Switzerland in October 2020.

Domestically, in May 2020, Hyundai Motor signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to strengthen mutual cooperation for a pilot project to supply hydrogen electric cargo trucks. Since December last year, the pilot project has been conducted in the metropolitan and Yeongnam regions.

Through the pilot project, Hyundai Motor completed suitability verification on domestic roads and decided to advance the originally planned domestic sales schedule from 2023 to start delivering to customers from this month.

The strength of hydrogen electric trucks leading the future of eco-friendly logistics is that the fuel cell system weighs less than the battery of electric trucks, enabling longer driving distances. Above all, it can be safely 100% charged in a short time. Accordingly, the prevailing opinion is that hydrogen electric trucks are suitable for large commercial vehicles that operate over long distances.

The XCIENT Fuel Cell hydrogen electric truck is equipped with a 350kW high-efficiency motor, a 180kW fuel cell stack (two 90kW fuel cell stacks, based on stack complete output), and a 72kWh high-voltage battery. With one hydrogen charge, it can travel approximately 570 km.

Based on this, it secured a maximum output of 476 horsepower and a maximum torque of 2237 Nm, superior to the same-class XCIENT diesel equipped with an H430 engine.

In addition to applying the hydrogen fuel cell system, optimization of key vehicle parts reduces interior noise and vibration, providing a quiet driving environment. Also, safety has been enhanced by applying features such as the ‘Collision Safety System,’ which cuts off current and fuel to prevent secondary accidents upon detecting side collisions and rollovers; ‘Downhill Cruise,’ which automatically activates auxiliary braking on downhill slopes to reduce speed; disc brakes; and tire pressure warnings.

Hyundai Motor operates 4X2/6x4 special-purpose chassis cabs and 6X4 wing bodies domestically. The sales price ranges from 160 million KRW to 216 million KRW, based on a national subsidy of 250 million KRW and a local government subsidy of 200 million KRW.

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