Hyundai says finding hydrogen car customers is its biggest challenge

Hyundai says it is still committed to hydrogen fuel cell cars. But the carmaker admits that finding enough buyers is its biggest challenge.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles run on electricity generated from hydrogen gas. They refuel in minutes, much like petrol cars, and emit only water vapour. Hyundai has been one of the main carmakers pushing the technology.

One Hyundai executive said the company does not think hydrogen cars are finished. The problem, he said, is persuading people to buy them in the numbers the company needs. Demand has stayed weak even though the technology was once widely described as the next big thing for clean cars.

Hydrogen cars have failed to gain traction for years. Battery electric cars have grown much faster in most markets. Charging an electric car at home or at a public station is often easier than finding a hydrogen fuel station, and the network of hydrogen stations is small.

Hydrogen cars are not sold in India. Hyundai has not said whether it plans to bring any to the country. For Indian buyers, the main choice in clean cars remains battery electric models and hybrids.

Hyundai has not said when it expects demand to rise or what steps it will take to win over customers. It is also not yet clear how the company plans to build out refuelling stations.