Hyundai ix35 FCEV Hydrogen Fuel Cell in production by end 2012

Hyundai will have its hydrogen powered ix35 FCEV in production by the end of 2012 with full production by 2015.

We’ve spotted the Hyundai ix35 FCEV (that’s the hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle) out in South Korea sporting a new nose a couple of times recently, which apparently doesn’t signal a facelift for the ix35.

What it does signal is Hyundai’s commitment to the hydrogen fuel cell as the most sensible fuel for cars in the future and to remove our dependency on oil, and Hyundai has been out promoting that message in London.

The Hyundai ix35 FCEV has been on show at the ‘Investing in Future Transport’ conference held at London’s City Hall this week with Hyundai’s Principal Fuel Cell Research Engineer, Dr. Sae Hoon Kim, explaining their strategy for sustainable future mobility.

But what interests us more is that Hyundai has revealed that the ix35 FCEV – which can do over 300 miles on a re-fuel and hit 62mph in 12.8 seconds – will actually be commercially available from the end of 2012.

True, Hyundai will only be building 1,000 FCEVs initially, but that’s just the start of plans to put the ix35 FCEV in to full production by 2015.

At which point we might all start to become interested in electric cars.