First Hydrogen Fueled Car Ready to Lease in Calif.

 

The first mass-produced car running on hydrogen will be delivered within the next several weeks in Southern California. We've heard about Toyota planning to sell a hydrogen fuel cell car sometime in 2015, but Korean automaker Hyundai gets the gold star for being first on the American shores with the same technology, at least in the Los Angeles/Orange County part of California. And you get free refills!

The deal is actually pretty good. You put down $2,999 and get a brand spanking new Hyundai Tucson that runs on a fuel cell instead of gas for a 36-month term at $499 a month. For that money, you also get unlimited free hydrogen refueling and all the same services of the Hyundai Equus "At Your Service" valet program, meaning if your fuel cell CUV requires any service, a Hyundai dealer will pick the car up and provide you with a loaner vehicle, then return the car after service at absolutely no charge whatsoever.

According to Hyundai, hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles represent the "next generation" of zero-emission electric vehicle technology. The range and refueling time of the car apparently compares favorably with gasoline vehicles, Hyundai says the car will be capable of traveling up to 300 miles between fills, a process that the brand assures us will take less than 10 minutes, at least once you've found a hydrogen filling station. According to the California Fuel Cell Partnership, there are currently just eight filling stations in the metropolitan Los Angeles area and one in the San Francisco Bay Area, but the California legislature is scheduled to provide $20 million annually over the next “several years” for the construction of additional locations.