Hyundai has announced it will be manufacturing the ix35 Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle this year with a sales target of 1000 units by 2015. This makes Hyundai the first manufacturer in the world to put Hydrogen cars into series production. The Hyundai ix35 is a compact crossover SUV commonly known as the Tucson. The vehicle is the second best selling product of Hyundai in Europe (after the i30). The ix35 fuel cell will have a limited production of 10,000 units after 2015 with a target consumer being both public and private fleet owners. The company has already signed contracts to lease out the ix35 Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to municipal fleets of some cities in Sweden and Denmark.
The Hyundai ix35 fuel cell incorporates a fuel cell stack that converts hydrogen into electricity which in turn charges the lithium ion battery that provides power for running the electric vehicle. The ix35 will be a Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) and will have emissions only in form of water vapor, which will give a major boast to global eco-friendly mobility vehicles and help in solving the global pollution related problems. The biggest USP of the Hyundai ix35 FCV is it takes just a few minutes for filling up fuel and has a good range of 590 kms, unlike electric cars which requires a long charging period and offer a limited range.
The Hyundai ix35 hydrogen car offers a performance figure very similar to its petrol model, it accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 12.5 seconds and has a top speed of 160 km/h. Hyundai claims that their car is a result of a dedicated R&D over the years and its focus to be the leader in ZEV. The company is proud to be the first manufacturer to roll out the production model after successful testing. Other leading manufacturers are also making constant attempts to come up with hybrid cars. Mahindra Reva is all set to launch its NXR very soon in the Indian market. We anticipate with the rising prices of conventional fuels, the cars based on non-conventional fuels will not be a far fetched dream.
