Hyundai delivers first batch of Fuel Cell SUVs to UK customers

Hyundai has delivered the first batch of six hydrogen-fuelled vehicles, the ix35 Fuel Cell SUV, to UK customers, reaching the world's first series production of a hydrogen-fuel car to customers.

Air Products, ITM Power and Transport for London are some of the customers to which deliveries had been made.

The start of UK deliveries for the ix35 Fuel Cell comes as the latest step in the company's global roll-out of its hydrogen-fuelled ix35, which the car maker had been developing since 1998.

Tony Whitehorn, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor UK, said making the first customer deliveries of hydrogen-powered cars was a huge landmark for the industry.

He added Hyundai was the first company in the world to start series production of a fuel cell vehicle and was committed to rolling out this technology in line with government plans to grow the refuelling infrastructure.

According to London's deputy mayor for business and enterprise, Kit Malthouse, hydrogen was the fuel of the future.

He said he firmly believed that hydrogen fuel-cell technology would eventually replace the internal combustion engine.

Meanwhile, Business Green reported that UK electric car sales were moving into the fast lane, after almost 5,000 vehicles were accredited under a government grant scheme between July and September this year.

The strong sales performance meant double the number of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEV) were registered for the plug-in grant scheme as against the previous three months.

Under the government-backed scheme, the price of those ULEVs that qualified for the initiative was reduced by up to £5,000 for cars and £8,000 for vans, further strengthening the financial case for investing in electric vehicles that already benefited from extremely low running costs.

According to commentators, the latest strong quarterly performance provided further evidence that momentum was building across the electric vehicle market, with the last three months seeing almost a third of all vehicles awarded grants since the grant scheme started in 2010.

The total number of vehicles registered under the programme now stands at over 17,000.

Businesses had been among the early adopters, with electric vehicles used in a growing number of corporate fleets, in segments as diverse as cheese manufacturers, driving schools, and safari parks.