Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell EV – first UK deliveries

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The Hyundai ix35 FCEV – the hydrogen fuel cell EV ix35 – has now arrived with the first UK customers as the first production fuel cell car in the UK.

It’s more than a year since Hyundai delivered the first ix35 FCEVs – that’s the hydrogen fuel cell electric version of the ix35 – to the City of Copenhagen for its municipal fleet, and now it’s the turn of the UK to get the first deliveries of a production FCEV to paying customers.

Coming just a week after the UK government announced an £11 million investment in a hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, which will greatly expand the ability to refuel with hydrogen in the UK (although that wouldn’t be difficult as hydrogen refuelling stations are currently as rare as hens teeth) and make FCEVs a more practical proposition for UK drivers.

The first customers for the ix35 FCEV are corporate rather than private, and include  Air Products, ITM Power, Johnson Matthey and Transport for London.

Tony Whitehorn, Hyundai’s UK boss, said:

Making the first UK customer deliveries of hydrogen-powered cars is a huge landmark for the industry. Hyundai is the first company in the world to start series-production of a fuel cell vehicle and is committed to rolling-out this technology in line with government plans to grow the refuelling infrastructure.

The first ix35 FCEVs may have gone to corporate buyers, but Hyundai is keen to get private owners in to fuel cell cars too, so if the idea of being at the cutting edge of a (potential) hydrogen revolution appeals, you can give Hyundai a call from today to order, with first deliveries expected in early 2015.

The revolution begins.