The Hopium adventure continues! A French startup aiming to launch a luxury hydrogen sedan has just announced the next phase of its project. An increasingly specific project, as this time it is an industrial site! Hopium just announced his first factory in Normandy, near the city of Vernon, in Ere.
Hopium chooses @RegionNormandy for its first industrial site. pic.twitter.com/YSE53hTzhl
— Hopium (@hopiumofficial) September 22, 2022
Goal: Produce 20,000 Hopium Machina per year!
A location that will allow Hopium to benefitcertain proximity to Paris, but especially the strategic axis of the Seine, a key point from a logistical point of view. Good, given Hopium’s big ambitions. On this 35 hectare site, a very young builder is looking to hire long term more than 1500 people. The goal is to: 20,000 cars per year ! Apparently pleased with the news, the Normandy region prides itself on being France’s true hydrogen pole, with the Ariane rocket test site in particular, and around a third of the nation’s hydrogen consumption.
But Hopium’s goal so far remains very ambitious. La Machina, the brand’s first model, debuts about 120,000 euros. First of all, the introduction of a fuel cell (hydrogen) engine significantly limits its appeal to the general public. If the network of electric charging stations in France is still far from perfect, and especially far from the goal of 100,000 accessible stations, hydrogen stations are still a long way off. It still exists today less than 50 stations hydrogen charging stations open to the public in France…
Already more than 1000 pre-orders
But we can’t fault Hopium for consistency in ideas. After presenting a detailed concept, Machina Vision, Hopium recorded more than 1000 pre-orders. And all this, although the first copies will not be delivered before, in the best case, 2025. As a reminder, Hopium Machina is announced for approximately 500 hp. and 500 km of autonomy. But this is a huge advantage over electric full of hydrogen only takes a few minutes…
In short, it’s a logical but important step for Hopium, which hopes to continue its momentum. And if you want to discover Machina Vision “in real life”, you can see it at the next one Paris Motor Showfrom October 17 to 23.
Source: Auto Plus
Robert is an experienced journalist who has been covering the automobile industry for over a decade. He has a deep understanding of the latest technologies and trends in the industry and is known for his thorough and in-depth reporting.