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.

Related Content

  • September 22, 2015
    Launch of UK wind hydrogen refuelling station
    Energy storage and clean fuel company ITM Power has launched its first public access hydrogen refuelling station at the Advanced Manufacturing Park, just off the M1, Junction 33 in South Yorkshire, funded by InnovateUK. The site, which as a public access refuelling station is the first of its kind in the UK, consists of a 225kW wind turbine coupled directly to an electrolyser, 220kg of hydrogen storage, a hydrogen dispensing unit and a 30kW fuel cell system capable of providing backup power generation fo
    Read More
  • January 10, 2014
    The sunshine subsidy for Colorado’s tollways
    David Crawford reports on energy cost cutting on US highways. Just over a year after switch-on and with two global awards under its belt, the longest solar-powered toll road in the US is generating heightened interest in highway applications of alternative energy. The E-407, which loops around the eastern perimeter of the Denver metropolitan area in Colorado, won the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) President’s Overall Award for Excellence at its September 2013 Annual Meeting in
    Read More
  • April 20, 2016
    Countering falling fuel tax revenue with mileage fees
    Eric G. O’Rear and Wallace E. Tyner look at the benefits of mileage charges and how these might be implemented. Since the early 1900s, taxes on petrol (gasoline) and diesel fuels have been used to finance the construction and maintenance of roadway infrastructure and, in some countries other government spending too. Now, a combination of improved fuel economy, the advent of hybrid and alternative fuelled vehicles and a reluctance in some countries (especially the US) to increase fuel taxes has led to a d
    Read More
  • April 24, 2015
    Report: Invest now in fuel cell vehicles?
    According to IDTechEx, there is divided opinion on future of traction fuel cells in electric vehicles, though few argue any more that they will power the majority of electric vehicles (EVs). Nonetheless some manufacturers are very enthusiastic and now could be the beginning of the end of the trough of disillusionment, indeed the time to invest, as analysed in the IDTechEx report Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles 2015-2030: Land, Water, Air. A comparison of views by IDTechEx) found that Toyota, Nissan, Honda,
    Read More

Highlighted Content