16.01.2023 Story

A Postcard from … Nexø: A winter road trip in Denmark with Hyundai NEXO

All of Hyundai Motor’s SUVs share a family resemblance. On top of boasting a mutually progressive design language and offering customers electrified powertrain options, they were all named after global travel destinations.

Previous entries in Hyundai’s ‘A Postcard from …’ series have focused on Hyundai BAYON, Hyundai SANTA FE, and Hyundai TUCSON. The next entry shines a spotlight on the company’s fuel cell powered passenger vehicle: Hyundai NEXO.

Velkommen til Danmark

Hyundai NEXO pays homage to Nexø, a town on the island of Bornholm, Denmark. The SUV is futuristic, inspired by Danish nature.

As a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), its sole emission is water, helping conserve the country’s natural beauty. And with its 666-kilometre range (WLTP), NEXO could drive along the entire coastline of Bornholm more than three full times.

On top of that, a single refuelling takes only five minutes. But the vehicle’s impressive range doesn’t stop there. NEXO has a range long enough to complete a road trip across the entirety of Denmark – from Esbjerg to Nexø – without having to stop to refuel.

First stop on the tour: Esbjerg

Hyundai started its winter road trip in the Danish seaport town of Esbjerg, located on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwestern Denmark. West of Esbjerg, next to Sædding Beach, towers Mennesket ved havet (Men by the Sea), a nine-metre-tall white monument of four seated men. Built to celebrate the centennial of the municipality in 1994, the sculptures are one of the area’s major tourist attractions. Located opposite the landmark is the Fisheries and Maritime Museum.

Although Denmark experiences mild winters, temperatures still drip into the single digits and sometimes even into the negatives. Fortunately, NEXO was designed to beat the cold. In addition to its heated seats and steering wheel, the model’s powertrain can handle extreme temperatures and environments. NEXO can cold start even when the temperature drops to -30oC in an industry-leading 30 seconds.

And like a true SUV, NEXO provides ample space for bulky winter outerwear and equipment for outdoor activities. Thanks to the small size of the world’s first unified three-tank system, Hyundai’s FCEV offers more space for passengers and luggage: a fully flat, 461-litre luggage area and a maximum of 1,466 litres with the rear seats folded down.

While in Esbjerg, Hyundai also made a stop at a plot of land purchased by Swiss renewable energy company H2 Energy Europe. Here, Hyundai is involved in the development of Europe’s largest hydrogen plant to convert green electricity into hydrogen to be used directly in trucks and other heavy land-based transport. The project could be commissioned as early as 2024 and is expected to create up to 200-300 new permanent jobs in the area.

In terms of further hydrogen investments, Hyundai Motor Group introduced HTWO, a new brand to represent the group’s world-leading hydrogen fuel cell system. In addition to this, HTWO has also been supplying XCIENT Fuel Cell heavy-duty trucks since the summer of 2020 and ELEC CITY Fuel Cell buses in various European cities since the autumn of 2021.

Second stop on the tour: Odense

On the way to Odense, the third-largest city in Denmark, NEXO’s integrated multilink rear suspension came in handy. The improved suspension geometry promises a smoother and more comfortable ride while enhancing handling – ideal for the winding roads found throughout Denmark.

A millennium-old, visitors to Odense can tour the Egeskov Castle, the Funen Village, and the Ladbyskibet ship. The city is also the birthplace of fairy-tale writer Hans Christian Andersen. Tourists can visit his home and see how he lived.

Author of The Little Mermaid, Andersen was one of the most famous and well-travelled Danes. He is quoted as saying “To live is to travel.” As a leader in providing technological solutions around alternative powertrains, Hyundai offers a model for every need to make more people mobile.

Navigating the narrow roads of Odense was tricky. However, thanks to Hyundai’s Blind-Spot View Monitor, drivers have more visibility when driving and conducting manoeuvres, so they can keep passengers and other road users safe. Hyundai was the first automaker to deliver this technology, which uses wide-angle surround view monitors (SVM) on each side of the vehicle to display areas that cannot be seen in a conventional rear-view mirror in the digital cluster.

FCEVs are a good choice for any customer who values innovative technologies, wants all the advantages of a battery electric motor, and prefers quick fuelling. Hyundai NEXO, which launched in 2018, is Hyundai’s second-generation mass-production FCEV. Hyundai was the first automaker to mass-produce FCEVs and continues to be a leader in sustainable motoring technology.

Disclaimer: CO2 and emissions data

  • Hydrogen consumption combined for the Hyundai NEXO in kg H2/100 km: 0.95; CO2 emissions combined in g/km: 0 (WLTP)

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