HYUNDAI WANTS BIG OIL COMPANIES TO BUILD HYDROGEN FUELING STATIONS

Korean automaker Hyundai is invested heavily into hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, beginning with the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell SUV. But with just six refilling stations concentrated in South Cal, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles lack any sort of refueling infrastructure.

So what does Hyundai want to do to change that? In an interview with Green Car Reports, Hyundai executive Dave Zuchowski said, “We believe the fuel oil companies that have been doing this for 100 years should invest in infrastructure, and we’ll do what we do best, which is build cars.”

The state of California is investing millions of dollars into hydrogen fueling stations that will support fuel cell vehicles from Toyota and Honda as well, and that to be fair by the end of 2016 there are expected to be 30 refilling stations across South California. At the very least though, people paying the $499 a month to lease a Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell vehicle will have access to free, unlimited hydrogen, which is about the only way to undercut the trivial refueling costs of cars like the Tesla Model S.

Unfortunately for Hyundai and other companies committing to hydrogen, electric cars seem ready to take off into the mainstream thanks to superstars like Tesla and BMW building EVs people really want to buy. Meanwhile, EV advocates have highlighted just how wasteful current hydrogen production methods are,all electric cars seem is new wave to world to move electric  in the next centuries and forever. 

Just don’t tell Hyundai though.  They seem more concerned taking potshots at Tesla over “government money” used to install the Supercharger network (not true in the least, by the way) than explaining how they’ll build a nationwide network of hydrogen fueling stations, which is also getting government help.