Hyundai hydrogen truck fleet passes 20 million kilometers in Europe

Hyundai hydrogen truck fleet passes 20 million kilometers in Europe

Hyundai hydrogen trucks have now driven 20,000,000 kilometers across Europe, Hyundai Motor Group announced on February 5, 2026. A hydrogen fuel cell truck makes its own electricity onboard from hydrogen gas, instead of plugging into a charger or burning diesel. The milestone covers 165 XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks running in 5 countries, Switzerland, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Austria, since the first trucks started work in Switzerland in October 2020. Germany alone runs about 110 of the 165 trucks. Automotive World independently confirmed the same 20,000,000 kilometer figure and truck count the same day Hyundai published it.

Hyundai Motor is reducing tailpipe carbon emissions by working with global partners to deploy hydrogen fuel cell trucks across various sectors such as logistics, distribution and urban public operations.

Chul Youn Park, head of Global Commercial Vehicle and Light Commercial Vehicle Business Division, Hyundai Motor. Source 1.

Hyundai hydrogen truck programs expand into North America

In North America, Hyundai counts 63 XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks that have driven 1,600,000 kilometers since their 2023 debut, the same February 2026 release states. Hyundai names 30 of those trucks at the Ports of Oakland, working under the NorCAL ZERO project, and 21 trucks in Georgia, serving logistics at the Metaplant America vehicle plant Hyundai operates there, under a program called HTWO Logistics. Those 2 named locations account for 51 of the 63 trucks. Subtracting 51 from 63 leaves 12 trucks the Hyundai release does not individually locate, a MAOWCE calculation, not a figure Hyundai states directly. A 3rd North American location, the British Columbia Hydrogen Ports Project, is named only by Truck News, which does not give it a truck count either.

New Jersey plans a Hyundai hydrogen truck pilot at Port Newark

2 more Hyundai hydrogen truck projects are planned but not yet running. The Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation at Rutgers University announced on December 9, 2025 that a 13,000,000 dollar grant from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority will fund 6 XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks moving shipping containers at Port Newark. That kind of short distance container move at a port is called drayage. The pilot is planned to begin in early 2026, with 12 months of data collection once it starts, and involves the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the utility Public Service Enterprise Group and the nonprofit Center for Transportation and the Environment. No source read for this article confirms the Port Newark trucks are running yet.

It's about making New Jersey an R&D and workforce training hub for hydrogen powered transportation.

Ali Maher, director of Rutgers CAIT and principal investigator on the Port Newark pilot. Source 2.

Uruguay plans a Hyundai hydrogen truck project called Kahiros

In Uruguay, a group of local logistics and forestry companies named Ventus, Fraylog and Fidocar plans to run 8 Hyundai hydrogen trucks, 6 for regular operations and 2 held as backup, on a project called Kahiros, Electrive reported on March 25, 2026. The 40,000,000 dollar project is financed by Santander Group, backed by the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank and a United Nations renewable energy fund, and will draw hydrogen from a 4.8 megawatt solar array. Operations are planned to start in November 2026. No source read for this article confirms the Uruguay trucks are running yet.

Our Hyundai XCIENT trucks with hydrogen fuel cells supporting the Kahiros Project produce no tailpipe emissions and offer a lower carbon alternative to traditional freight logistics methods.

Airton Cousseau, president and chief executive officer, Hyundai Motor Brazil and Central and South America. Source 4.