SEOUL -- Hyundai sees Germany as a key market in Europe for its Nexo fuel cell SUV.
Germany is one of the most promising markets for the Nexo because it aims to have 400 refueling stations in operation by 2025, Sae Hoon Kim, Hyundai's head of fuel cell vehicles development, said a press event here to introduce the Nexo.
Kim praised Germany's effort to create a refueling network through the H2 Mobility venture founded in 2015 to develop a nationwide hydrogen infrastructure for fuel cell vehicles.
Hyundai will give the Nexo a public debut at the Geneva auto show on Tuesday. It will go on sale in South Korea later this month, then in Europe in the summer and in the U.S. in the fourth quarter.
The Nexo's product manager, Dong Geun Lee, said the Nexo will be priced competitively with Toyota's Mirai. The Mirai costs 78,600 euros in Germany.
Hyundai expects businesses and car-sharing fleets will be the main customers for the Nexo.
Kim said Hyundai aimed to sell "several thousand" Nexo units globally a year. He did not give a target for Europe.
Hyundai says more than 500 European customers bought its previous fuel cell vehicle based on the Tucson/iX35. That vehicle went on sale in 2013.
The Nexo is built on a new dedicated full cell platform, which gives it greater power, a longer range and better driving dynamics compared with the Tucson/iX35. The Nexo's electric motor output is 120 kilowatts, up from 100. Hyundai says the Nexo delivers a full-tank driving distance of 609 km (378 miles) under South Korea's testing regime. Toyota says the Mirai has a 500-km range.
The Nexo is also a technological showcase for Hyundai. It has a new blind-spot detection system, which shows drivers the rear and side views while changing lanes in either direction. Hyundai says it is an industry first. The Nexo also has Hyundai's first application of an auto-steering lane-keep assist to help keep the vehicle centered in its lane of travel.
