Hydrogen car for the everyday Australian? 2025 Hyundai Nexo could be 800km driving range game-changer with spy shots and digital renders hinting at family SUV with towing and off-road capability

As the 2025 release of Hyundai’s next-generation Nexo SUV edges closer, fresh digital renders have given us the best idea yet of how the new hydrogen-powered model will take shape.

The images published by TheKoreanCarblog – sourced from their colleagues at KKSS Studios – imagine the next-gen model according to spy shots and Hyundai’s recent Initium concept, which previewed the upcoming Nexo in line with the brand’s new 'Art of Steel' design language.

The production version of the Initium concept is shaping up to be more useable than any hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle ever, with an 800km driving range and ability to tow heavy loads.

The renders imagine the car with square pixelated LED running lights, a feature first showcased on the brand’s electric Ioniq 5 model, along with thin LED light strips for headlights, as revealed on previous spy shots.

The general shape of the vehicle also carries over from the spy shots captured last year in the US, with a boxy front end similar to that of the Hyundai Santa Fe, and a sloping, semi-fastback roofline.

An additional rear passenger window has been imagined on the car’s C-pillar, suggesting the next Nexo may accommodate a third row.

It doesn’t seem completely out of the question given spy shots have already given the impression the next-generation Nexo will be considerably larger than its predecessor, which was comparable in size to a Toyota RAV4.

Renders also imagine the Nexo with sleek body panelling, retractable door handles and more utilitarian features such as bulky plastic wheel arches and roof rails, as showcased on the Initium concept.

This is part of a plan to make the upcoming Nexo more versatile than its predecessor, with an industry spokesperson telling TheKoreanCarblog: “Hyundai Motors is expected to significantly improve marketability such as performance and durability.”

It checks out given spy shots have already shown the Nexo towing a caravan, while the Initium concept previewed it traversing a desert.

An upgraded second-generation fuel cell system is expected to underpin the car after Hyundai paused plans to develop its third-generation system in 2022.

It will still have an expected driving range of up to 800km, an improvement on the previous generation’s WLTP-rated range of 666km, which can be delivered in three to five minutes of refuelling.

Power and torque outputs are unclear for now, but we expect an improvement on the current 120kW/395Nm to handle more arduous tasks such as towing.

Roughly 40,000 examples of the first-generation Nexo were sold globally since the model's introduction in 2018, making it the best-selling hydrogen car of all time.

In Australia, the Nexo is only available through special leasing agreements, which have typically been reserved for state and federal governments.

In spite of that, Hyundai Australia has confirmed the next-generation Nexo will arrive Down Under, with the brand doubling down on its commitment to the future of hydrogen vehicles along with Toyota and BMW, despite challenges with upscaling hydrogen refuelling infrastructure.

Hyundai’s Chief Operating Officer John Kett said: “We’ll have a chance to see the next-generation Nexo and it looks incredible. We’ll definitely be getting that and we’ll talk about that more when we’re ready to talk about it.”

Expect more details, such as pricing and specifications, closer to the model's second-quarter release date in its home market of South Korea later this year.