The Honda FCX Concept

The Honda FCX Concept is a very interesting car indeed, Honda’s second fuel cell vehicle concept after the original FCV Concept, and now it has been put into a limited run production and named the Honda FCX Clarity.

The limited run production is exclusively for southern California in the US. This is because there is already an existing hydrogen fueling station infrastructure there - 19 between Oxnard and San Diego with 3 more in the works. Even in northern California there are 6 hydrogen stations, with 6 more in the works.

Honda plans for the first delivery to take place in summer 2008, but details of the lease programme will only be known closer to launch. Tentatively, plans are for a three-year lease term with a price of US$600 per month (approx RM2050), including maintenance and insurance.

Honda decided to add the Clarity name behind the FCX concept name to express the idea that the company is offering a clear solution to the challenges of the future in terms of sustainable mobility. Mechanically, it is pretty much similiar to the FCX Concept. There has been a minor increase in power if I am reading the spec tables right - the motor used to put out 95kW but now it is putting out 100kW, or 136 PS. The V Flow fuel cell stack works similiarly and puts out the same 100kW as before - so I am not sure why the extra 5kW was missing from the FCX Concept before.

Honda FCX Clarity Fuel Cell Vehicle Lease Program Begins with First Customer Delivery

AutomobileJuly 25, 2008
Honda FCX Clarity Fuel Cell Vehicle Lease Program Begins with First Customer DeliveryZero-emissions vehicle now on the roads of Southern California
TORRANCE, Calif., U.S.A., July 25, 2008– American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced that Ron Yerxa and Annette Ballester took delivery of their hydrogen fuel cell-powered FCX Clarity on Friday, July 25, 2008 at Honda of Santa Monica, one of three dealerships in Southern California that are part of the first fuel cell vehicle dealership network. Yerxa and Ballester are the world's first FCX Clarity customers and the first of approximately 200 customers who will lease the vehicle in the United States and Japan over the next three years, with the vast majority of vehicles being leased in Southern California.

World's First Honda FCX Clarity Customers"The FCX Clarity lease program is one more step toward meeting the societal goals of climate stability, renewable energy supplies and zero-emissions transportation," said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda. "With this key step, we are advancing toward the goal of broader commercialization," Mendel added. "Establishing a dedicated sales network and service infrastructure provides customers with the best balance of convenience and the highest level of satisfaction."Significant advances over Honda's previous generation FCX include a 25 percent increase in combined fuel economy to 72 miles/kg-H2* (74 mpg GGE ) and a greater than 30 percent increase in driving range up to 280 miles*. The FCX Clarity is a next-generation, hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle. Propelled by an electric motor that runs on electricity generated in the fuel cell, the vehicle's only emission is water, and its fuel efficiency is three times that of a modern gasoline-powered automobile.
*
Based on official 2008 EPA mileage estimates. Use for comparison purposes only. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.