South Korean’s Hyundai Motor Co. easily defeated its Japanese rivals to lead the world in hydrogen car sales in the first ten months of this year.

Sales of hydrogen-powered vehicles increased 8.8% globally between January and October, from 14,879 units to 16,195 units, according to research released on Monday by SNE Research.

In the preceding 10 months, Hyundai Motor sold 9,591 Nexo hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles, outpacing sales of Toyota Motor Corp.’s Mirai, which came in second (2,897 units). Nexo had a 59.2 percent market share compared to Mirai’s 17.9 percent, a 41.3 percentage point advantage. Honda Motor Co.’s Clarity (209 units) and SAIC Motor Corp.’s MAXUS EUNIQ7 were the next two models (198 units).

Due to semiconductor scarcity in Japan, Toyota and Honda continue to experience volume production issues. Honda sales are still weak despite the August 2021 end of Clarity manufacturing and a slow sales rebound for China’s EUNIQ7, according to SNE research.

The survey claimed that Toyota will increase its market share by selling its second-generation Mirai in China based on import models by the end of this year and pursuing local manufacturing in the future.

In order to boost battery performance even at low temperatures, Hyundai Motor has received a New Energy Vehicle (NEV) license from Beijing authorities for its Chinese Nexo model. According to reports, Hyundai Motor may think about selling its Xcient heavy-duty hydrogen-electric trucks in China.