Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell Update
We are barely a month into 2017 and the good folks over at Hyundai are already looking toward 2018. That is to say, Hyundai recently announced that they are steadily working on a much-improved fuel cell with regard to the scheduled update of the Tucson. Of course, Hyundai plans on this being an upgrade in every sense of the word, noting that the new fuel cell will add a thirty percent increase in range over the current fuel cell version. All in all, that means that a vehicle with this new technology will be able to go somewhere in the ballpark of 348 miles on a single tank. That is a whopping 77 more miles than the previous fuel cell tech, as it was only able to travel approximately 271 miles on a single tank.
So, you are probably asking yourself what the updated Tucson with this new fuel cell will look like. Well, Hyundai is keeping things pretty much under wraps for now, but what we do no thus far, according to Ahn Byung-ki, Director of Eco-Vehicle Development over at Hyundai, is that the vehicle will be “totally new” and “somewhere between a CUV and SUV.” Sure, that is not much to go on, but the seeds of excitement are certainly there.
Ahn Byung-ki also noted that the release of the new fuel cell technology will correspond with the XXIII Olympic Winter Games that are set to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018. “We’re going to make a big event with the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics,” Ahn noted in an interview at Hyundai’s Namyang R&D center south of Seoul, South Korea. “It’s a big event. That’s always a good opportunity for PR.”
In any event, the automaker should have a smooth transition in the way of replacing the current Tucson platform with the upgraded fuel cell version. Still, the possibility always remains that Hyundai could just scrap everything and build a new model around the new fuel cell platform instead of building off the existing one. Only time will tell at this point, but we, for one, are quite excited. The new fuel cell technology from Hyundai is set to launch sometime around January of 2018, so we will have plenty of time to gather as much information as possible with regard to this before it is officially released.
As is always the case, keep checking back in here with us at Rosen Hyundai for more information with regard to the Tucson fuel cell updates. Too, while you are at it, why not stop by our location and sign up to test drive one of our many new lot vehicles? We can promise to do everything in our power to help you find the perfect vehicle!
