Hyundai is torn between what type of environmentally friendly car to bet on as its next growth engine.

The choices are electric or hydrogen-electric cars. The company was at one stage at the forefront of global hydrogen-electric car development and set to start commercial production. But then it shifted its focus to EVs.

Hydrogen-electric cars are powered by electricity produced when hydrogen reacts with oxygen in the air. They emit only water and even absorb fine dust in the air.

In 2013, Hyundai became the first automaker in the world to roll out a mass-produced car powered by hydrogen fuel cells. But a lack of charging stations and the W80 million price tag stunted sales (US$1=W1,181). Cumulative sales amounted to just a few hundred globally.