South Korea Once Led the Way, but It Could Lose Out to Chinese and Japanese Automakers: A Battle for Dominance in Hydrogen Commercial Vehicles

Toyota joins the hydrogen fuel cell market for commercial vehicles Japan and China are actively supporting hydrogen ecosystems through government policy South Korea also needs government support to maintain its competitive edge

사진 확대 Hyundai Motor Company XCIENT Fuel Cell truck [Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor Company / Edited by Choi Ki-sung, reporter, Maeil Business Newspaper Digital Newsroom]

South Korea, Japan and China have entered a fierce survival race for global leadership in hydrogen commercial vehicles.

South Korea, led by Hyundai Motor Company, is currently ahead in the hydrogen commercial vehicle sector. However, Japanese and Chinese companies, backed by government support, are catching up quickly.

There are growing concerns that South Korea could fall behind Japan and China in global competition unless the government actively supports the development of a hydrogen commercial vehicle ecosystem.

According to the industry on the 18th, Toyota, which is leading hydrogen mobility alongside Hyundai Motor Company, signed a binding agreement last month with Daimler Truck and Volvo Group to take equity stakes in the hydrogen fuel cell joint venture Cellcentric.

Once regulatory approval is completed, the three companies will each hold a 33.3% stake in Cellcentric.

Through the deal, Toyota plans to provide Cellcentric with core fuel cell technologies, including cells, materials and stacks.

Industry observers say the partnership between Daimler Truck and Volvo Group, which represent the large commercial vehicle market, and Toyota, which has strong influence in the global auto industry, will highlight the growth potential of the hydrogen commercial vehicle market and help energize the sector.

They also expect competition in the hydrogen commercial vehicle market to intensify further, with investment likely to expand into related industries such as parts and charging infrastructure.

Major countries are supporting the development of hydrogen commercial vehicle ecosystems

사진 확대 Hyundai Motor Company XCIENT Fuel Cell truck [Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor Company]

Major countries are now moving aggressively to build hydrogen ecosystems. As renewable energy expands, hydrogen is drawing attention as an energy carrier because it can help balance intermittency and can be stored in large volumes for long periods.

These countries have defined hydrogen commercial vehicles as a key tool for decarbonizing the transport sector and are concentrating their capabilities on related policies and infrastructure.

China set up performance-linked support funds worth about 8.5 billion yuan, or 1.5 trillion won, for five regions from 2021 through last year, during the first pilot city cluster period.

With incentives such as fuel subsidies and toll discounts, the country has achieved cumulative deployment of more than 40,000 hydrogen electric vehicles and 574 hydrogen charging stations.

In March, it also announced a target of deploying 100,000 hydrogen electric vehicles by 2030 through a comprehensive hydrogen application pilot project.

Japan is pursuing a “hydrogen artery” plan that will deploy 1,500 hydrogen commercial vehicles over the next 10 years along major east-west trunk routes.

The goal is to create annual hydrogen demand of 7,500 tons along these routes. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is also reviewing deregulation and cost support measures to expand hydrogen commercial mobility.

The European Union (EU) is enforcing standards that require manufacturers of newly registered heavy vehicles, including trucks and buses, to cut average CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030, 65% by 2035 and 90% by 2040, compared with 2019 levels.

It is also tightening vehicle air pollutant standards through the Euro 7 regulation.

The EU is also accelerating the buildout of hydrogen mobility infrastructure. Under the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR), member states must install hydrogen charging stations every 200 kilometers along the core network of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) by 2030 and ensure at least one public hydrogen charging station in every urban node.

“South Korea should also create a government-led hydrogen logistics corridor”

사진 확대 Hyundai Motor Company XCIENT Fuel Cell truck [Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor Company]

South Korea is regarded as a country that has led technological development and demonstration operations in the hydrogen commercial vehicle sector.

Hyundai Motor Company mass-produced the world’s first large hydrogen electric truck, the XCIENT Fuel Cell, in 2020. Since then, the XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks deployed in logistics operations in Switzerland, Germany, France, the United States, Canada and Uruguay have surpassed a cumulative driving distance of 27 million kilometers as of July 2026.

This is significant because it reflects years of accumulated operating experience.

Hyundai Motor Company has demonstrated the reliability of its technology through operations carried out in real logistics transport environments.

However, analysts say future market competitiveness will depend not only on vehicle performance, but also on how quickly a hydrogen commercial vehicle ecosystem can be built, including charging, maintenance and operations.

As global competition expands beyond vehicle development to infrastructure and ecosystem building, government support and institutional reforms are emerging as key factors in securing market leadership.

Industry officials say South Korea also needs to establish a government-led hydrogen logistics corridor to strengthen the global competitiveness of its hydrogen commercial vehicle industry.

They argue that hydrogen logistics corridors should be designated around major logistics hubs, and that medium- to long-term deployment strategies for hydrogen commercial vehicles and plans for charging infrastructure should be drawn up on that basis to create demand and ensure stable operating conditions.

There are also calls to improve the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for hydrogen freight trucks by continuously expanding support policies such as fuel subsidies and highway toll discounts, while reviewing additional measures that could encourage shippers and transport operators to switch to eco-friendly vehicles.

If such policy foundations are put in place, they are expected to contribute to achieving carbon neutrality in the transport sector.

Since about 42.7% of greenhouse gas emissions in South Korea’s transport sector come from commercial vehicles such as buses, freight trucks and special-purpose vehicles, expanding the use of hydrogen commercial vehicles is seen as one of the key ways to meet the country’s emissions reduction targets.

South Korea is aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 53% to 61% from 2018 levels by 2035 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.