Hyundai has announced that the Tucson Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) will be available to Canadians on a 3-year lease at $599 a month beginning in early 2015. It may just be for the Vancouver area, but it's a start.
This will make Hyundai the first automotive company to make hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles available in the country -- two years after becoming the first-ever automaker to mass-produce fuel cell vehicles.
The lease includes maintenance and unlimited hydrogen refuelling. In addition, Tucson FCEV owners will enjoy an “At Your Service” valet program similar to the Equus full-size luxury sedan's.
Hyundai says the Tucson FCEV takes less than five minutes to refuel and has an estimated range of 426 kilometres; both are comparable to the existing gasoline-powered Tucson and therefore could eliminate the range anxiety or recharge-time compromises of battery-electric vehicles.
"We firmly believe that Hyundai has already surpassed the tipping point in fuel cell technology development and that it’s ready to be driven by customers interested in pioneering a zero-emissions automotive future," said Don Romano, President and CEO of Hyundai Auto Canada Corp.
"The challenge facing this technology has always been characterized by a chicken-and-egg scenario, where car companies won’t bring fuel cell vehicles to market without an infrastructure and there is no need for a refuelling industry without customers. It’s time to move beyond simply talking about the opportunity. Hyundai was the first to mass-produce fuel cell electric vehicles and will be the first to bring them to Canadian customers. We’re planting the seed for a new segment of the industry.”