Seoul, May 13 (IANS): South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor has slipped to second place in global hydrogen vehicle sales in the first quarter (Q1), data showed on Monday.

The automaker sold 691 hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in global markets during the January-March period, recording a 66.2 per cent year-on-year drop, according to auto and energy industry tracker SNE Research.

Japanese automaker Toyota overtook Hyundai to the top place, selling 868 units, or 36.4 per cent of all hydrogen models sold worldwide, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The market share of Hyundai Motor, which sold 2,044 units in Q1 of last year, fell to 29 per cent. SNE Research attributed the sluggish sales of Hyundai's Nexo model to the overall decline in the company's hydrogen vehicle sales.

The drop in quarterly sales of Hyundai Motor came amid an overall growth decline in the hydrogen car segment. Global sales of all FCEVs during the three months under review amounted to 2,382 units, down 36.4 per cent from a year ago.

As per data, South Korea has been experiencing low sales of hydrogen cars since the sector's peak in 2022, as Hyundai's Nexo remains the only available consumer model while the issue of weak infrastructure remains unresolved.