Hyundai Nexo Hydrogen Fuel Cell on sale in Korea from just £22.5k - but there's a catch

Hyundai Nexo Hydrogen Fuel Cell on sale in Korea from just £22.5k

The Hyundai Nexo Hydrogen Fuel Cell Crossover – Hyundai’s replacement for the ix35 FCEV – goes on sale in South Korea with prices from just £22,500. But there is a catch.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell cars are still struggling to make any sort of impact, hampered as they are by high prices and a very limited hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, but car makers like Hyundai are still pushing forward with a technology which could be the answer to fossil fuel use.

Having kept the faith with hydrogen with the ix35 FCEV, Hyundai revealed its replacement – the Hyundai Nexo FCEV – in January, and now it’s gone on sale in South Korea with a headline price that’s rather remarkable.

It’s remarkable because it’s just £22,500, but that’s because the South Korean government are keen to establish hydrogen as a fuel of the future, and are offering big incentives to get buyers in to FCEVs.

Take away the subsidies, and the Nexo actually costs from £46,000 for the Nexo Modern and from £48,000 for the Nexo Premium. But even at those levels, assuming they translate to similar prices when the Nexo goes on sale in the UK and Europe, it’s a drive in the right direction.

Hyundai already has orders for over 1,000 Nexos in Korea – with over 700 ordered on the first day they went on sale – helped by the big tax incentives and a 10-year warranty on the Fuel Cell components to stop buyers being put off by unknown future costs and reliability.

Byung Kwon Rhim, Hyundai’s Executive VP for Global Operations, said:

We are witnessing a historic day as fuel cell technology is being commercialized in large quantities. With this positive beginning, we will continue our efforts in overseas markets to support fostering the newly developing fuel cell vehicle market.

The new Hyundai Nexo FCEV is expected to arrive in the UK later this year.