Kia has confirmed its first fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) will be commercially available by 2015 – most likely in the Borrego, large SUV.
Currently the Kia Borrego FCEV has a range of 805kms and fuel consumption of 4.36l/100kms.
FCEV vehicles employ hydrogen fuel which is combined with oxygen in a fuel stack to create electricity with the only exhaust emissions being pure water.
Sounds perfect except fuel stacks were expensive and there has been little in the way of infrastructure development to refuel hydrogen vehicles. However new fuel stacks are both cheaper and smaller.
In Korean and North America, Kia already sells a petrol-electric hybrid version of its excellent Optima mid-size sedan.
At home in Korea, you can also buy a Kia Forte sedan with an LPG-electric hybrid drivetrain. Kia has also produced an all-electric version of the Sportage compact SUV.
