Hyundai has delivered its first NEXO fuel cell SUV.

A former scientist was eager to add the benefits of this zero-emissions vehicle to his environmentally-friendly lifestyle.

  • Keyes Hyundai in Van Nuys, California, handles the first delivery in the U.S. market
  • Former scientist and chemist from Ventura enhances his environmentally-friendly lifestyle with the zero-emissions, technological flagship NEXO SUV
  • Other Hyundai stories HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE

Customer Todd Hochrad of Ventura, California picked up his new SUV at Keyes Hyundai in Van Nuys to become the first U.S. customer to drive off in the new NEXO, the only mass-produced fuel cell SUV for the U.S. market, boasting a range up to 666km (WLTP).

NEXO is the new technological flagship of Hyundai’s growing eco-vehicle portfolio and marks Hyundai’s continued commitment and momentum with the industry’s most diverse SUV line-up.

Mr. Hochrad isn’t the typical automotive buyer, yet he’s the sort of customer looking to drive a zero-emission, hydrogen-powered vehicle. More than 15 years ago, he purchased his first hybrid car and over the years has driven dedicated electric vehicles as well. His new NEXO will deliver about five times the driving range of his first all-electric car.

Hyundai SUVs currently come in diesel and petrol variants, as well as conventional hybrids.

NEXO: More than just the cleanest, longest-range zero-emissions SUV on the road
NEXO is not only perfectly clean, emitting only water, but a technological dynamo. It offers a number of advanced driver assist systems, including Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Following Assist, Driver Attention Warning, High Beam Assist and Remote Smart Parking Assist that enables NEXO to either autonomously park or retrieve itself from either a parallel or perpendicular parking space with or without a driver in the vehicle. Additionally, Hyundai’s Blind-spot View Monitor is an industry-first technology that projects the side views of NEXO in the centre cluster to the driver using cameras while changing lanes with the turn signal on that monitor areas that cannot be seen by a traditional rear view mirror.

It Goes a Long Way
The NEXO has an estimated range of 666km (WLTP) with a refuelling time that can be achieved in as little as five minutes, allowing a consumer lifestyle very similar to a comparable petrol-powered SUV in terms of range and refuelling speed.

Hydrogen is cool. But there is more to NEXO’s environmental story

NEXO uses a number of ecological materials in its construction, including soybean-oil based polyurethane paint, bamboo-thread-based bio fabric, along with bio-plastic and bio-carpet extracted from sugar cane. Bio-based materials were applied to 47 different parts and reduced CO2 emissions by 11.8kgs during the manufacturing process.

NEXO vs. ix35 Fuel Cell
Not only is Hyundai’s NEXO fuel cell vehicle built with an exclusive dedicated vehicle architecture and a design that sets it apart from every other vehicle on the road, it is vastly improved over the ix35 Fuel Cell it has replaced. It is quicker, roomier, more efficient and better packaged – all while offering 40 percent more range.

And finally
Since its U.S. launch four-and-a-half years ago ix35 Fuel Cell customers have accumulated almost 11million kilometres on American roads, all, of course, with refuelling times that mirror the convenience of petrol vehicles. And just recently, the Hyundai NEXO was named a winner of the prestigious Wards’ 10 Best Engine award, further highlighting its position as a high-tech and user-friendly vehicle.