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Japanese motoring giant Honda has launched production of a new
zero-emission hydrogen fuel-cell car.
The FCX Clarity, a family sized four-seater, runs on electricity
and emits only water vapour.
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The FCX will
be available on a £300 a month lease
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Honda claim the car has three times the fuel efficiency of a
conventional petrol engine, and twice that of existing Hybrid
vehicles.
The Japanese carmaker will produce only 200 of the cars over the
next three years, which will then be leased to customers in the
US and Japan for around £300 a month. The three year lease
includes maintenance and insurance.
The first cars off the production line will be heading straight
to celebrity drivers in Southern California, where hydrogen
fuelling stations already exist.
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis will be among the first drivers. Others
include Little Miss Sunshine producer Ron Yerxa, and 24 actress
Laura Harris, who attended the launch ceremony in Japan.
For the Clarity’s US release Honda claim to have received 50,000
online applications, but selected buyers living close to
existing fuel stations.
Honda also announced hopes to begin full mass-production of a
fuel-cell car within ten years.
"If we can bring costs down by a certain amount, I think we can
start mass-production," said Honda President Takeo Fukui.
"Fuel-cell vehicles, which don't use fossil fuels and don't
produce carbon dioxide, are necessary for the environment. We
would like to make them more popular."
Fuel-cells generate electricity in a chemical process combining
hydrogen and oxygen, with the only emission being harmless H2O.
The FCX Clarity stores the electricity in a lithium-ion battery
and can run for up to 300 miles on a single fuelling. It has a
top speed of 99mph. |
