HYUNDAI has revealed its second-generation Nexo hydrogen gas cell electrical automobile (FCEV) with the restyled SUV packing a collection of enhancements to the efficiency, effectivity and vary of its powertrain, in addition to various brand-first design cues and applied sciences.
Regardless of its ultra-niche standing and gas kind, the brand new Nexo has already been confirmed for Australia with Hyundai Motor Firm Australia (HMCA) public relations senior supervisor Guido Schenken telling GoAuto {that a} native launch is slated for the primary half of 2026.
The incoming automobile will substitute the present first-generation Nexo that was revealed in 2018 and was launched in Australia to a choose group of presidency and company operators in 2021.
Australian roads at the moment host 35 first-generation Nexos, with 20 leased by the Australian Capital Territory authorities and an extra 5 pushed by Queensland authorities workers. The rest are cut up between Woodside, Atco Fuel, the Embassy of Korea, and HMCA itself.
Key among the many updates to the Nexo is a considerably uprated FCEV powertrain with extra environment friendly inverter. Whereas the outgoing Nexo produced a system complete of 135kW of energy, the brand new mannequin now delivers 190kW, enabling a diminished 0-100km/h dash of seven.8 seconds (-1.4sec). A bigger battery assists with efficiency and vitality buffering.
Hydrogen storage capability has elevated by 5 per cent to six.69kg. Along with drivetrain effectivity enhancements courtesy of a brand new motor (and the aforementioned revised inverter) the second-generation Nexo is predicted to realize a WLTP vary of greater than 700km.
That might signify a 5 to 6 per cent enchancment over the present mannequin’s 666km (WLTP) driving vary.
Regardless of these upgrades, Hyundai has retained the Nexo’s core gas cell system structure. A principal advantage of FCEV know-how stays fast refuelling potential—if you’ll find a station. Replenishing a full tank of hydrogen takes round 5 minutes relying on station stress and reserves.
Whereas the refuelling time stays similar to that of inner combustion automobiles, entry to hydrogen infrastructure continues to be a big limitation for FCEVs—significantly in Australia.
HMCA says there are 9 operational hydrogen refuellers nationwide, positioned in Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane and Perth, whereas there are two stations in Melbourne. An extra eight services are stated to be in improvement and an improve of HMCA’s personal Sydney-based hydrogen manufacturing facility.
The location is able to producing as much as 20kg of inexperienced hydrogen per day utilizing electrolysis powered by photo voltaic vitality. In optimum circumstances this might be adequate to refuel three Nexos.
It isn’t but clear whether or not the brand new Nexo will proceed as a lease-only automobile in Australia or if HMCA will supply the SUV for outright sale. Pricing for the previous-generation Nexo was by no means disclosed, however GoAuto understands a purchase order worth would have exceeded $100,000 earlier than on-road prices.
Exterior styling for the second-generation Nexo has undergone a big redesign. Hyundai has changed the first-generation automobile’s easy and conservative aesthetic with a extra distinctive, angular design. Design components reference Hyundai’s newest design language, dubbed “Artwork of Metal”, and incorporate retro crossover themes within the C- and D-pillar area.
Customary exterior options, at the least for the Korean market, embrace 18-inch wheels, four-dot signature LED headlights, and digital facet mirrors to enhance aerodynamics. A 3-layer paint choice referred to as Goyo Copper Pearl shifts hue underneath completely different lighting.
The inside advantages from a spread of enhancements designed to convey the Nexo in step with Hyundai’s premium electrical automobile providing. Entrance occupants get pleasure from ‘rest’ seats trimmed in synthetic leather-based upholstery with heating and cooling features whereas a curved infotainment show is fitted.
Regardless of the modest uptake of FCEVs globally, South Korea stays an outlier, and the Nexo is a crucial mannequin for Hyundai in its dwelling market—in addition to one of many few ongoing FCEV passenger automobile applications. Though volumes tapered to round 4000 in 2023 and 3000 in 2022, Hyundai offered over 10,000 examples of Nexo in 2022.
The corporate’s choice to spend money on a considerable redesign of the Nexo means that, regardless of headwinds for the gas kind, Hyundai views FCEVs as retaining strategic worth in markets the place hydrogen refuelling could be viable—each for industrial and passenger purposes.
