Skip to main content

Honda begins sales of fuel cell car

Honda Motor has begun to sell its all-new fuel cell vehicle (FCV) in Japan, the Clarity Fuel Cell; its first-year sales target is 200, mainly through lease sales mainly to local government bodies or businesses Honda has already been working with to popularise FCVs. Making the fuel cell powertrain more compact using original Honda technologies and fitting it entirely under the hood of the car enabled Honda to create an FCV to carry five passengers rather than the usual four. Combined with the improved
March 11, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
1683 Honda Motor has begun to sell its all-new fuel cell vehicle (FCV) in Japan, the Clarity Fuel Cell; its first-year sales target is 200, mainly through lease sales mainly to local government bodies or businesses Honda has already been working with to popularise FCVs.

Making the fuel cell powertrain more compact using original Honda technologies and fitting it entirely under the hood of the car enabled Honda to create an FCV to carry five passengers rather than the usual four.

Combined with the improved efficiency of the powertrain and a reduced energy requirement for driving, a 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen storage tank installed in the vehicle provides a cruising range of approximately 750 km (470 miles), an increase of approximately 30 per cent compared to the previous FCV model, says Honda. The company also claims that the hydrogen tank can be refilled in approximately three minutes, an ease of use equivalent to that of a gasoline-powered vehicle.

During the first year of sales, Honda will collect information about the vehicle in use before beginning sales to individual customers.

Honda says it is planning to introduce the Clarity Fuel Cell to Europe and the US before the end of 2016.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Wireless traffic data in real time
    January 31, 2012
    The effect of moving objects on the electromagnetic landscape set up by cellular telephony networks can be detected and interpreted to give real-time traffic data across large geographical areas at low cost. Here, we revisit the Celldar concept. Global economic downturn has pushed public-sector agencies, transport administrations among them, to push even harder for cost efficiencies. Unfortunately, when it comes to transport safety and efficiency the public sector often has to work up to a cost rather than
  • Include ITS in policy decisions from the start, not as an afterthought
    February 1, 2012
    DG TREN's Fotis Karamitsos, on why the European Commission's new ITS Action Plan is looking to the past for future direction. The European Commission's (EC's) new Action Plan for the Deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in Europe, which was announced as 2008 drew to a close, intends that transport and travel become 'cleaner; more efficient, including energy efficient; and safer and more secure'. At first sight, that wording might be interpreted as marking a significant policy shift within Europe, wit
  • US enforcement regulation to deliver clearer guidelines?
    February 2, 2012
    Jim Tuton of American Traffic Solutions looks at the evolution of automated enforcement in North America "Technological regulation will become more sophisticated at the federal level, giving states clearer guidelines" Jim Tuton In just 20 years, photo enforcement in North America has grown from a single speed camera in a small town in Arizona to thousands of photo traffic enforcement cameras which are now operating in 350 communities spread across 27 states and three Canadian provinces. Most of these p
  • D’Artagnan Consulting opens Australian office
    October 12, 2016
    D’Artagnan Consulting, which works with public agencies and private firms to examine and implement sustainable transportation funding, has announced the opening of an office in Victoria during the ITC World Congress. “With the changing profile of road users, and the advent of hybrid, electric and fuel efficient cars, around the world, fuel tax revenues for government bodies and agencies are under increasing pressure,” said Jack Opiola, D’Artagnan’s managing partner/president.