T&B News has become aware of the plan by Hyundai Australia to get back into the truck market, almost a decade after it left the commercial realm, following a half-hearted initial foray.
However we believe the factory re-entry into the truck sector will be exclusively in the zero-emission arena with battery electric trucks initially and the prospect of Hyundai’s well advanced hydrogen fuel cell trucks being a possibility down the track.
We believe the announcement that a range of electric Hyundai trucks are set to be introduced here is set to be made by Hyundai Australia within the next few days.
Hyundai Australia initially introduced a range of its light duty Mighty trucks back in 2010 , however a management change saw the commercials dropped by the factory owned Hyundai Australia in late 2014.
The arrival of Hyundai’s commercial BEV and Hydrogen FCEV technology is believed to have led the company to revive its commitment to heavy vehicles, seeing an opportunity to gain a foothold in the Australian market and win sales from the dominant Japanese makers, who apart from Fuso, have lagged on zero emission preparedness.
Bankstown based car dealer group, Peninsular Motors, headed up by Dilip Kumar won the rights to distribute trucks in 2015 and has sold a modest range of Hyundai diesel trucks and it is believed it will still handle the diesel range leaving zero emission to Hyundai Australia.
Hyundai has pioneered an impressive range of electric passenger vehicles in recent years and it is believed that the Hyundai Mighty electric truck brings a large number of technical synergies and is set to be the first electric truck to join Hyundai’s growing local electrified vehicle line-up in mid-2023.
Hyundai already sells the Kona Electric, IONIQ 5 and the soon-to-arrive IONIQ 6 EV passenger cars, with the electric Mighty adding to the company’s overall mix.
T&B News understands that the Hyundai Mighty electric will have a range of approximately 240km and will be aimed at metropolitan and last-mile deliveries as zero-emission delivery workhorse.
From overseas spec sheets we’ve gleaned that the Mighty electric will have around 120kW of power and 320Nm of torque from a single traction motor and has a 114.5kWh battery system with rapid charging capability that allows it to be taken from 10 per cent to 100 percent in around 70 minutes.
We believe that along with the Mighty electric, Hyundai is also considering the long-haul, heavy duty Xcient Fuel Cell prime mover for a future potential trial in Australia.
Interestingly, apart from Daimler owned Fuso, the other two leading Japanese truck brands, Isuzu and Hino are yet to have a full battery electric truck, in Australia or anywhere in the world for that matter.
Hino has some hybrid electric diesel trucks and sells glider kits to local electric start up SEA Electric who assemble and badge the truck as its own electric models, while Isuzu is yet to show or sell a full battery electric truck, although we understand it is set to be launched at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show.
Hyundai is a long way ahead of either of those Japanese rivals in terms of its battery electric trucks and it is already being sold in the Korean market, the USA, Europe and New Zealand.
Hyundai’s strong brand recognition and robust reputation in the car market after years of proving the brand with increasingly advanced and reliable car and light van models will probably give Hyundai a leg up when entering the zero emission truck market.
