Alternative to e-cars?
Chinese start mass production of hydrogen cars
Created: 06/17/2022, 09:56
By: Bjarne Kommnick
The Shenlan (Deep Blue) SL03 is Changan Auto's latest hydrogen car.
© Changan Automobile Company
Changan Automobile starts the largest series production of a hydrogen car.
In June, the "SL03" comes onto the market - with a huge range.
Chongqing – Hardly any other topic polarizes the automotive industry more than the future of hydrogen cars.
German researchers have already developed a hydrogen hybrid car with a range of 1,000 km.
But while other manufacturers are still having doubts, the traditional Chinese company Changan Automobile is already getting down to business: With the sub-brand “Deep Blue”, the group wants to launch its new “SL03” model by the end of June.
This makes the first hydrogen fuel cell car from China the largest mass production of cars with this type of drive in the world to date, reports kreiszeitung.de.
Automobile Manufacturer: | Chongqing Changan Automobile Company |
Headquarters: | Chongqing, China |
Founding: | 1862 |
umbrella organization: | China South Industries Group |
Largest ever series production of hydrogen cars starts: on the market from June
Changan Autombiles advertises a range of 700 kilometers and a full tank in just three seconds.
Only recently did German researchers make the breakthrough in hydrogen car technology.
At the presentation of the new model last week, the group even announced that it wanted to compete with Tesla.
Because the "SL03" is to come onto the market in four variants: purely electric, with two different battery sizes, as a hybrid with an increased range and completely hydrogen-powered.
New Chinese hydrogen car "SL03" goes into series production: 700 km range
The price varies somewhat depending on the type of drive, but the manufacturer announced that the "SL03" will cost the equivalent of around 28,000 euros.
While the range of the hydrogen variant should be around 700 kilometers, the electric version with a smaller battery would have a range of 515 kilometers and with the larger battery variant 712 kilometers.
With the hybrid version, under ideal conditions, it would even be possible to drive 1,200 kilometers at a time, thanks to a 1.5-liter engine that supports the electric car battery.
Only 17,000 hydrogen cars sold worldwide in 2021: Hyundai and Toyota share the market
As "zeit.de" reports, the Japanese car manufacturer Toyota and the South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai have shared 98 percent of the entire hydrogen car market.
Overall, it is still a tiny niche market.
According to the report, just 17,000 hydrogen-powered cars were sold last year, around 1,600 of them in China, but sales of hydrogen cars are rising sharply worldwide.
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Hydrogen cars are on the rise – but the West is still hesitating
In the next two years, the number of hydrogen cars in China is expected to increase more than tenfold, and by 2030 there should be at least one million hydrogen cars on China's roads.
With the world's largest production of the "SL03" to date, this goal now seems to be easily achievable.
This could also have a signal effect in Germany, according to the study, a third in Germany do not want to drive an e-car in the future, but want to drive with hydrogen.
Which hydrogen cars are there?
VW, Ford and General Motors are working on e-car alternatives
For Western manufacturers, however, hydrogen continues to play a subordinate role, while Toyota could perhaps solve the problem of supplying hydrogen cars with a new cartridge.
But there are exceptions, rumors are circulating that Ford is producing its "Mustang" as a hydrogen version and wants to bring it to market.
The US automaker General Motors announced pick-up trucks with hydrogen engines.
Despite skepticism, car manufacturers such as VW continue to work on the technology in this country.
Are hydrogen cars the future?
VW develops innovation: 2,000 liters kilometers with one tank filling
VW continues to work, at least quietly, on the hydrogen-powered fuel cell.
This is shown by a recently filed patent.
With this, VW is driving hydrogen cars forward: “With a full tank of fuel, you can travel up to 2,000 kilometers,” promises one of the developers.
And that despite the fact that CEO Herbert Diess recently railed against the technology in public.