Honda will show a production-ready fuel cell vehicle at the upcoming Tokyo motor show.
The Honda FCV will go on sale in Japan next March before being offered in Europe and the USA in 2017. The Honda, of course, follows in the Toyota Mirai’s footsteps with that fuel cell vehicle having gone on sale in Japan, Europe and the USA in the last few months.
The Honda FCV is powered by an electric motor that puts out 100 kW and Honda claims a driving range of 700 km. It can be re-fuelled from a hydrogen filling station in around 3-5 minutes. In Japanese specification, the FCV is also capable of supplying electricity to homes to act as an emergency generator. Honda also claim the FCV to be the first car of its type to feature the entire fuel cell powertrain packaged within the engine bay.
The Toyota Mirai might have captured most of the attention in the last year, but it’s worth noting that Honda in fact led the development of hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles, and back in 2002 was leasing its fuel cell FCX hatch to fleet customers. In 2007 the FCX Clarity sedan was launched in the USA and some 24 remain on the roads.
The Tokyo motor show opens on 29 October.
