Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top automaker, said Monday that all its passenger cars will use environmental-friendly air-conditioning refrigerant by 2020 as part of efforts to combat global warming.

The automaker said it will adopt the R1234yf air-conditioning refrigerant for all of its passenger vehicles going forward.

In the past it used eco-friendly refrigerants for vehicles sold in Europe in order to meet the European Commission standards regarding the regulations on carbon dioxide emissions.

The environment-friendly air conditioning refrigerants are roughly 10 times more expensive than the R134a, which means the price tag of Hyundai Motor's passenger vehicles may rise.

The automaker has been using R134a refrigerant, which has been cited for CO2 emissions, in its vehicles sold here, as South Korea has no regulations preventing its use. (Yonhap)