A Hyundai executive said that Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea’s automotive behemoth, has opened its first overseas subsidiary dedicated to manufacturing hydrogen fuel cells in Guangzhou City of south China's Guangdong Province, highlighting three key reasons for its investment in China's burgeoning hydrogen market.

In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Choi Dooha, senior vice president of Hyundai Motor Group and general manager of HTWO Guangzhou, emphasized China's vast demand in sectors such as cold-chain logistics, public transit, and special-purpose vehicles. He added that strong government support for hydrogen as part of the national energy strategy makes the country an appealing location.

"Hyundai Motor Group's decision to invest heavily in China's hydrogen fuel cell industry is based on three strategic considerations. First, we firmly believe that China is the world's largest and most promising hydrogen market. In 2019, we formed a team to study building a fuel cell plant here. HTWO Guangzhou was officially established on January 15, 2021. Why China? Because it has enormous demand across cold-chain logistics, long-haul transport, public transit, and special-purpose vehicles - offering the world's most diverse application scenarios for hydrogen. At the same time, the Chinese government has shown strong commitment to making hydrogen a key part of the national energy system. The Energy Law provides institutional support, and this clear policy direction, combined with vast market demand, gives us long-term confidence," he said.

Choi expressed confidence in the industrial ecosystem of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, highlighting Guangzhou's robust automotive foundation and growing hydrogen supply chain.

"Second, we have great confidence in the industrial ecosystem of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. As a core city in China's first batch of fuel cell vehicle demonstration clusters, Guangzhou has a strong automotive foundation and a fast-growing hydrogen supply chain. Its efficient business environment has enabled us to quickly build a full life-cycle system - from research and development and production to sales and application - in close partnership with local leaders," he said.

This initiative is part of Hyundai's broader strategy to integrate advanced fuel cell technology with China's industrial capabilities to foster global hydrogen commercialization and support energy transition efforts, Choi said.

"Third, this investment aligns with our core group strategy: 'In China, for China, to Global.' Last July, we opened Hyundai's first overseas hydrogen fuel cell research and development center right here at HTWO Guangzhou. This reflects our intent to combine our world-leading fuel cell technology with China's industrial base and market scale to advance hydrogen commercialization together. Through our work here, we aim to contribute meaningfully to the global energy transition," he said.