In 2023, affected by various factors such as geopolitical conflicts, interest rate hikes in developed countries, and the post-epidemic era, the global economic development will be clouded, and the global hydrogen fuel cell vehicle market will also be affected in 2023 for hydrogen energy, which is relatively expensive and requires a large amount of infrastructure investment.
According to the data of Hydrogen Cloud Chain, the global sales of fuel cell vehicles will decline by 21% year-on-year in 2023, and the main reason for the sharp decline of 55% in the hydrogen vehicle market in South Korea will be the main reason, while China and the United States have achieved contrarian growth. Among them, by vigorously promoting the development of hydrogen commercial vehicles, China has surpassed South Korea to become the largest single market for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in 2023, completing a historic moment.
1. Global sales fell by 214%, China bucked the trend and grew into the largest hydrogen vehicle market
In 2023, the global sales of hydrogen vehicles will be 14,642, a year-on-year decrease of 214%γAs shown in Figure 1, the total global sales of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in 2023 will be 14,642 units, a year-on-year decrease of 214%, the trend of rapid growth for three consecutive years was broken. In 2023, hydrogen vehicle sales will continue to come mainly from China, South Korea, the United States, Europe and Japan, while the development of other regions will be slow.
Figure 1: Global fuel cell vehicle sales from 2022 to 2023.
*: SNE Research, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Hydrogen Cloud Chain.
China and the United States are growing against the trend, and China has become the largest market for hydrogen vehicles. Among the five major hydrogen vehicle markets in 2023, only China and the United States will achieve positive sales growth, and other regions will see a year-on-year "halving" of sales, especially South Korea's sales will drop from 10,000 units in 2022 to less than 5,000 in 2023, which has become the main reason for the sharp year-on-year decline in global hydrogen vehicle sales. China, on the other hand, achieved 5,805 hydrogen vehicle sales with a growth of 72%, accounting for 396%, surpassing South Korea to become the world's largest single market for hydrogen vehicles in 2023, and it is also the fastest growing market. Under the "double champion" of sales and growth rate, China has truly become the locomotive of the global hydrogen vehicle market.
Second, Hyundai and Toyota continue to lead the way
Hyundai and Toyota are still the world's two largest hydrogen car companies, selling 5,012 and 3,921 units respectively, while continuing the market situation of "Toyota relies on overseas and Hyundai relies on domestic". As shown in Figure 2, Toyota's hydrogen vehicle sales in 2023 will be almost flat year-on-year due to the relatively stable U.S. market, while Hyundai's sales in 2023 will drop by 55% due to a sharp decline in the domestic market9%γ
Figure 2: Hyundai and Toyota's fuel cell vehicle sales.
*: SNE Research, Hydrogen Cloud Chain.
In terms of specific models, Hyundai Nexo will sell 4,709 units in 2023, a year-on-year decrease of 559%, while Toyota Mirai sales were 3,737 units, up 39% γIn addition, Toyota's new hydrogen fuel cell vehicle based on the Crown sedan also achieved sales of 100 units.
3. Is the turning point of the global competition pattern of the fuel cell industry coming?
In the global hydrogen vehicle market, the annual sales volume of passenger vehicles in Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea has remained low for a long time or even declined, while the Chinese market, which is dominated by commercial vehicles, has shown a continuous growth trend after promoting hydrogen energy infrastructure and reducing costs. In the early stages of the market, different development models led to disparities between regions.
Market competition is like sailing against the current, and if you don't advance, you will retreat. Behind the change in market size is the change in the competition pattern of various countries and companies in the field of hydrogen vehicles.
The long-term sluggish sales in Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea have greatly depleted the enthusiasm of car companies and upstream and downstream partners, such as Shell has closed all hydrogen refueling stations serving hydrogen passenger vehicles in the United Kingdom and the United States (see "Shell California Hydrogen Refueling Station Permanently Shuts, What Is the Future for Hydrogen Passenger Vehicles?"). This is not conducive to the continuation of the competitive advantage of the hydrogen vehicle industry of regions and enterprises.
On the other hand, the Chinese market, although the total market is still small, and there is no substantial gap with other regions, the momentum of continuous growth has driven the rapid development of the industrial chain, and it is expected to overtake Europe, the United States, Japan and other countries in terms of fuel cell technology, cost, market, etc., replicate the achievements of pure electric vehicles, and consolidate the leading position of China's new energy vehicle industry in the world.
Editor: Feng Hydrogen Yang Proofreader: Hydrogen Hydrogen My Heart Review: Hydrogen Cloud Little Fairy.
*: Hydrogen cloud chain.
Statement: The content of the article is for reference only, and does not mean that Hydrogen Cloud Chain agrees with its views or confirms its description.