The first seven electric trucks are part of 27 vehicles shipped to Germany in the coming weeks directly from the Hyundai plant in South Korea. HyLane receives a total of 17 trucks in the first phase.
Introducing Hyundai's latest hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks is a watershed moment in German mobility history, with the ability to decarbonize heavy road transport. Daniel Keller, Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility's Chief Operating Officer, and Hojun Suh, Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility's Chief Strategy Officer, flew to Bremerhaven to hand over to the first customer in Germany.
According to Beat Hirschi, CEO of HHM, "This is a historic occasion. We are expanding our activities in Europe, initially focusing on Germany, following the successful launch of the Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell truck in Switzerland. We were able to persuade HyLane, a young company that shares our principles and makes a genuine contribution to environmental preservation and decarbonization of heavy goods transit, to participate."
HyLane's managing director, Sara Schiffer, stated: "I was pleased about this: the first production trucks represent the foundation of a long-term collaboration with Hyundai, which we will continue to extend. We rent the trucks at a fixed rate per kilometer, allowing our customers to use them as needed and with less risk."
The Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport funded the delivery of all cars. NOW GmbH coordinates the funding initiative.
NOW CEO Kurt-Christoph von Knobelsdorff added: "Commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have the potential to make road freight transport in Germany and Europe more sustainable, particularly on long-distance routes. Because the logistics business is very interested in hydrogen fuel cell trucks, the arrival of the first series of production vehicles is fascinating. NOW congratulates HyLane on this achievement and looks forward to continuing to support this DEVK start-up."
The Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks have a range of roughly 400 kilometers. They hold hydrogen in 7 tanks and refuel in 10 minutes on average. The Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell is a step up from the first series-produced H2 trucks used in Germany. The hydrogen vehicles depart the ship and proceed directly to the body shops, where the customized versions are configured.
