The first step towards whole vehicle development was the Project Mercury collaboration between Hyundai and United Technologies Corporation (UTC). A number of vehicles were developed during the collaboration, with system improvements in powertrain performance and increasing range capabilities culminating in the final vehicle, MercuryⅡ.  This was based on the JM Tucson platform with an 80kW fuel cell system, 337km range and the ability to start from temperatures as low as -20 degree Celsius.

In 2000, Hyundai also launched the Polaris project in conjunction with the Korean Government’s G7 Project. The G7 Project was an initiative to help close the technological gap that existed between Korea and other advanced countries, specifically in the field of eco-innovation. The Polaris project saw Hyundai independently develop complete fuel cell vehicle systems, which lead to several project vehicles such as Polaris Ⅱ which showcased a Hyundai fuel cell system with an output of 80kW and a range of 370km.

At the same time as the PolarisⅡ was in development, Hyundai produced its first fuel cell bus in 2005, with a 160kW fuel cell system and an operating range of 380km. Hyundai also began in-house electric vehicle research in the early 1990’s. The two technologies became unified for the first time in the 2007 Tucson FCEV, which had a combined fuel cell and battery electric drivetrain output of 100kW and a range of 370km. Fuel cell bus development continued alongside passenger vehicles, with the 2009 2nd Generation Fuel Cell Bus offering a combined fuel cell system power of 200kW and an operating range of 380km.

2010 saw two milestones in the company’s fuel cell technology development: the accumulative distance covered by all Hyundai fuel cell vehicles reached the two million km mark and the new ix35 FCEV prototype was launched. This fuel cell vehicle was the first Hyundai to use high pressure 700bar fuel storage, boosting range to 635km from the 100kW fuel cell drivetrain.

Significantly in 2013, Hyundai became the first manufacturer to series produce the ix35 Fuel Cell electric vehicle. The 100kW fuel cell system and 700bar storage produced an NEDC certified 594km range.

In 2014, Hyundai unveiled the Intrado concept at the Geneva Motor Show. This concept showcased a focus on usability and adaptability, using advanced materials such as high strength steel and carbon fibre and new manufacturing and joining techniques that together have the potential to change the way cars are made. Intrado demonstrated a next-generation hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain with a hybrid Li-ion 36 kW battery, with a range of over 600 km.

By 2015, ix35 Fuel Cell sales were taking place across the world, including 13 countries in Europe. In the UK, 17 customers (from private companies, car sharing organisations and government agencies) became the first to drive hydrogen fuel cell cars. Across the European continent, the ix35 Fuel Cell vehicles on the road covered more than 1.2 million km’s.

Hyundai’s ongoing commitment to fuel cell development was shown in 2017, with the FE Fuel Cell concept that was shown at the Geneva Motor Show. It featured new drivetrain technology including a fuel cell stack 20 percent lighter than that of the ix35 Fuel Cell, yet with an increased power density of 30 percent and a range of over 800km.

2018 was another landmark year for the company’s fuel cell story, with the launch of NEXO, the only fuel cell SUV in the world. Following this the company announced its long-term roadmap - ‘Fuel Cell Vision 2030’ - to reaffirm its commitment to accelerate the development of a hydrogen society by leveraging the group’s global leadership in fuel-cell technologies. Aligned with the roadmap, Hyundai Motor Group has pledged to drastically boost annual fuel-cell system production capacity to 700,000 units by 2030 and explore new business opportunities to supply fuel-cell systems to other transportation manufacturers of vehicles, drones, vessels, rolling stocks and forklifts. The demand for fuel-cell systems from sectors beyond transportation such as power generation and storage systems is also expected to emerge quickly.

In May 2019, the Hyundai Motor Group announced an investment of €80 million in Rimac and is also aiming to lead the high-performance electrified vehicle market. The companies have been working closely together to develop prototypes for both an electric version of Hyundai’s N brand mid-ship sports car and a high-performance fuel cell electric vehicle with the intent to bring them to market.

In September 2019, Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility was formed - a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Company and H2 Energy. In turn, an additional partnership was forged with Hydrospider - a joint venture of H2Energy, Alpiq and Linde to promote green hydrogen ecosystem in Switzerland and other European countries. As part of this partnership, Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility plans to bring 1,600 Hyundai H2 Xcient Fuel Cell Electric Trucks, marking the entry of the automaker into Europe’s clean mobility commercial vehicle sector.

The Hyundai H2 XCIENT Fuel Cell truck features a new 190 kW hydrogen fuel cell system with two 95 kW fuel cell stacks connected in parallel. It delivers a single-fuelling travel range of more than 400 km, with a fuel storage capacity of almost 35kg of hydrogen.

Showcasing an alternative usage of our fuel cell stacks, the company previewed the Hyundai Generator, a portable charging station for electric vehicles and the newest feature of emission free electric charging at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show. The generator consists of two fuel cell stacks and combined hydrogen storage, giving the ability to charge two EVs simultaneously at high speed. As a comprehensive service provider of the new eTCR (Electric Touring Car Racing) championship, Hyundai will be providing the generator as a recharging system for all the cars to both showcase its technical leadership and accelerate the transition to clean e-technology.

As the Hyundai Motor Group positions itself as a global leader in clean vehicle technology, it also understands that there are considerable benefits in leveraging collective R&D capabilities across the industry. An example of this is the partnership between Hyundai Motor Group and Audi, which has seen both manufacturers share fuel cell technology developments to elevate their presence in the future fuel cell electric vehicle market.

Hyundai Motor Group also plans to strengthen its competitiveness in the fuel cell components industry, engaging in new business opportunities created by partnerships with other vehicle manufacturers. Hyundai Mobis, the leading FCEV components manufacturer of the Group, is continuously expanding its role in developing and supplying proprietary core components for Hyundai and other OEM’s fuel cell electric vehicles. Hyundai Mobis was the first company in the world to establish an integrated production system for core components of fuel cell electric vehicles and the company’s plant in Chungju, South Korea, already has the production capacity of 3,000 powertrain fuel cell complete (PFC) modules per year, and has capacity to produce tens of thousands of PFC modules down the road to meet forecast market demand. PFC modules are fuel stacks, drive motors, power electronic components and hydrogen fuel supply units.

Long ranges and short refuelling times make hydrogen an attractive future source of energy for electric mobility. This is particularly true for larger automobiles, where the weight advantages of the fuel cell vehicle inherent to its design are particularly pronounced. Key aspects for its future market success include the regenerative production of hydrogen and the establishment of a sufficient infrastructure. (MT) ​​

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Coretura, a 50:50 joint venture between Daimler Truck and Volvo Group, has entered into an engineering agreement with Accenture to accelerate the development of a software platform for commercial vehicles.

The company, headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, currently employs over 100 engineers. It continues to recruit specialists in system architecture, high-performance computing and cloud infrastructure to support its roadmap, which targets the delivery of its first commercialised products towards the end of the decade.

Coretura intends to create a single software platform, language and standard for trucks, buses and other heavy-duty transport vehicles. The platform is designed to support vehicle lifecycles of more than 15 years, moving the industry away from projects that require custom software development for each new vehicle.

As the engineering partner, Accenture will support development across several areas, including:

• Electrical and Electronic (E/E) architecture
• Software abstraction and hardware integration
• Embedded software, middleware, and cybersecurity
• Functional safety and cloud infrastructure

The platform aims to provide a reusable software stack to lower costs and standardise time-to-market for global manufacturers. For fleet operators, the system is designed to allow for continuous software updates and performance upgrades delivered over the air.

Johan Lunden, CEO, Coretura, said, “Our purpose is to advance mobility at the speed of ideas, and that takes depth. Building a full-stack SDV platform demands expertise across embedded software, middleware, cybersecurity, and functional safety, all designed for vehicles with lifecycles measured in decades. Accenture’s reinvention capabilities let us move faster without compromising the standards our customers depend on. This is acceleration, not course correction.”

Rainer Oder, SDV Embedded Software Lead, Accenture, added, “Helping the industry advance software-defined vehicles is a priority for Accenture. Our landmark collaboration with Coretura is designed to change embedded software engineering for automotive platforms. Together, we are looking to solve the challenges of a fully software-defined architecture – addressing critical areas such as hardware abstraction, API management and AI-based engineering optimisations.”

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The ePlane Company has announced the completion of its full-scale electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the e200X. Designated PT-01, the prototype has successfully integrated all core subsystems into a single structure, marking the transition from design and simulation to physical testing.

The e200X is designed as a single airframe versatile enough to serve three distinct markets – Passenger Air Taxi, Urban Cargo Carrier and Air Ambulance.

The company emphasises that the aircraft was designed to be compact, allowing it to integrate into existing urban infrastructure without requiring significant city redesigns.

Developed at the company's own facilities in Chennai, the e200X features in-house development of major components, including propellers, airframe structure, landing gear and battery pack.

This vertical integration provides the company with control over performance, manufacturing costs, and iteration speed, having reached this milestone on approximately USD 21 million in funding.

With assembly complete, the e200X will now undergo ground testing, flight testing and certification.

Prof. Satya Chakravarthy, Founder, The ePlane Company, said, "We set out to build an electric aircraft to a world-class benchmark, engineered and manufactured in depth in India for the World.  We deliberately designed the e200X to be compact, because an aircraft that asks a city to rebuild itself around it will not solve the problem it was built to solve. The same airframe can move people as an air taxi, carry goods as a cargo aircraft, and save lives as an air ambulance, and it can do all three using the infrastructure cities already have. That combination of real capability and capital efficiency is how we intend to compete, and win, in markets around the world.”

The company’s board includes prominent figures such as Vishesh Rajaram (Speciale Invest), Eash Sundaram (JetBlue) and Aditya Ghosh (Homage, Akasa Air). The venture, incubated at IIT Madras, has also received international recognition, including being showcased at Bharat Innovates 2026 and featured in Nvidia Founder Jensen Huang’s GTC keynote.

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Chinese technology company Xiaomi has marked a new milestone for its automotive product offering with its electric vehicle.

The company has announced a significant milestone in autonomous vehicle technology by completing the first official autonomous lap of the Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany with the Xiaomi YU7 GT, equipped with a Track Package, navigating the 20.8 km circuit without a human driver, recording a lap time of 10:29.483.

Following this performance, the Nurburgring has introduced a new official vehicle category: Autonomous Driving (under Electric Vehicles).

The Xiaomi YU7 GT autonomously navigated all 73 corners of the Nordschleife, managing 300 metres of elevation change and varying road surface conditions. The performance was driven by Xiaomi’s autonomous driving system, which integrates the Xiaomi XLA architecture and the MiMo-Embodied foundation model introduced in March 2026. The end-to-end architecture enabled the vehicle to coordinate steering, braking and power delivery in real-time, maintaining stability under high-speed and high-load conditions.

Xiaomi’s autonomous driving programme has evolved since the 2024 launch of Xiaomi HAD. The current system moves beyond simple behaviour imitation toward autonomous decision-making and deeper environmental interpretation. The company stated that the Nurburgring project serves as a critical testing ground to collect data for refining vehicle dynamics modelling, control strategy optimisation and safety redundancy mechanisms.

This achievement underscores Xiaomi’s commitment to advancing artificial intelligence in the automotive sector through rigorous real-world validation.

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QuantumScape Corporation has announced a multi-year joint research agreement with Honda R&D Co., a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co.

The collaboration focuses on advancing QuantumScape’s solid-state lithium-metal battery platform, including the development of associated manufacturing processes.

This agreement follows a successful technology evaluation period during which Honda conducted a technical study and competitive benchmarking of QuantumScape’s battery platform.

Atsushi Ogawa, Chief Operating Officer, Research Center of Excellence, Honda R&D Co, said, “QS technology demonstrated compelling and unique advantages during our evaluation. We see potential for QS technology to add value across a range of applications, including automotive, and we are excited to move forward into the next phase of our partnership.”

Dr. Siva Sivaram, CEO and President, QuantumScape, added, “Honda is a leading global automaker renowned for its engineering excellence and product quality across automotive and other applications worldwide, and its evaluation represents one of the most rigorous assessments of our technology to date. This agreement reflects the growing confidence in QS solid-state lithium-metal batteries to enable safer, higher-density energy storage.”

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