Global hydrogen car sales grew by almost 25% in 2025

Global sales of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle, FCEV) in 2025 increased by 24.4% compared to 2024. However, in absolute terms, the market remains small: 16,011 vehicles were sold during the year.

What's known

This data is provided by the analytical company SNE Research. According to its estimate, after a weak first half, demand increased in the second half of the year, resulting in the final growth.

The largest market was China — 7,797 vehicles. In the manufacturers' statistics, all these cars are listed as "China Commercial", without distribution by brands and models. It is not specified whether they refer to passenger FCEVs or light commercial vehicles.

The second place went to Korea with 6,802 sold passenger FCEVs. The growth was 84.4%. It was associated with the debut of the second generation Hyundai Nexo in April 2025.

The leader among manufacturers was Hyundai Motor with a result of 6,861 vehicles, excluding the undistributed Chinese cars. The company's growth was 78.9%. Including Chinese sales, Hyundai's share of the global FCEV market reached 42.9%.

The former leader, Toyota Motor, reduced sales by 39.1% to 1,168 vehicles. The company offers two models: Toyota Mirai and Toyota Crown FCEV. Honda Motor, which did not register any FCEVs in 2024, sold 185 units of the Honda CR-V e:FCEV.

In other regions, the market contracted. In Europe, sales decreased by 23.1% to 566 vehicles. In Japan, the decline was 37.3%, down to 430 vehicles. In North America, 365 vehicles were sold, which is 37.7% less than a year earlier. In other countries of the world, sales decreased from 57 to 51 vehicles, or by 10.5%.

According to SNE Research, the growth of the global FCEV market in 2025 was the result of increased Hyundai sales in the second half of the year and the effect of deferred demand in China at the end of the year due to the expiration of tax benefits for New Energy Vehicles (NEV).

Source: SNE Research