Hyundai Unveils New Large Truck, Eco-Friendly Bus

Hyundai unveiled a new semi-large truck and electric minibus at its own commercial vehicle fair at KINTEX in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province on Thursday.

The Pavise bolsters Hyundai's truck lineup, which includes the heavy-duty Xcient, the medium-duty Mega Truck and the light-duty Mighty and Porter.

Already a strong player in the midsize segment, the automaker hopes the new model will strengthen its presence in the large segment, which is dominated by foreign brands such as Scania, MAN and Volvo.

Smaller than the Xcient and larger than the Mega Truck, the Pavise is positioned to take on both segments. It comes with the latest safety features while boasting a spacious cabin and a load capacity of up to 13.5 tons. It will go on sale next month. 

The County EV is the automaker's third eco-friendly bus, adding to the electric- and hydrogen-powered Elec-City models. It is designed primarily for use as a school bus or intra-city minibus. It is 60 cm longer than the diesel version and can travel up to 200 km on a single charge with a 128 kWh battery, which takes 72 minutes to fully charge. Its fuel cost is expected to be about one-third that of the diesel version. Hyundai plans to launch the County EV in the first half of next year.

Hyundai says it will have 17 eco-friendly commercial models -- seven electric-powered and 10 hydrogen-powered -- in its commercial vehicle lineup by 2025 to cope with tightened regulations on carbon dioxide emissions. It will supply 10 units of its first hydrogen-powered truck to Switzerland in December, and aims to sell 1,600 units there by 2025.

"We will develop hydrogen models of heavy trucks and large buses that can be used for long-haul travel, and electric models of smaller trucks and buses for shorter distances," Hyundai vice president Lee In-cheol said.