 American Honda Motor Company has announced it plans to deliver about 200 FCX Clarity hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles to customers within the first three years of production, with leases beginning in July. Click image to enlarge |
Torrance, California – American Honda Motor Company has announced it plans to deliver about 200 FCX Clarity hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles to customers within the first three years of production, with leases beginning in July. The company has begun the process of selecting customers from over 50,000 people who have expressed interest on Honda’s website; the lease program will mark the world’s first large-scale retail initiative for fuel cell vehicle technology.
The first customers will be announced when the first vehicle rolls off the production line at a ceremony on June 16, 2008 in Japan, where Honda will also showcase the world’s first dedicated fuel cell vehicle production facility. There will also be an announcement of plans for U.S. dealers, future customer care, and customer qualification initiatives.
“Our customers for the current generation FCX have played an important role in our advancement of Honda fuel cell vehicle technology,” said John Mendel, executive vice-president of American Honda. “The first FCX Clarity customers represent the early adopters who will play a critical role in the mainstreaming of fuel cell cars. We remain firmly convinced that the hydrogen-powered fuel cell car represents one of the best long-term solutions to the world’s growing environmental and energy concerns.”
The FCX Clarity launch began in October 2005, with the unveiling of the next-generation FCX Concept vehicle at the Tokyo Motor Show. It was followed in November 2007 by the debut of the production model at the Los Angeles Auto Show, where the company announced plans to begin leasing to customers. Initially, the program will be based on a three-year lease term, with a price of US$600 per month, and will be targeted at consumers in South California living in very close proximity to publicly-accessible planned or existing hydrogen fuelling stations. Honda expects to lease several dozen models per year in the U.S. and Japan.
