Honda starts sales of Fuel Cell Car in Japan

Honda has started sales of the Clarity Fuel Cell, its all-new fuel cell vehicle (FCV), in Japan.

Clarity Fuel Cell is the world’s first five-passenger FCV sedan. It measures 4,915 mm in length, 1,875 mm in width, 1,480 mm in height and weighs 1,890 kg. The car has a 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen storage tank, which is claimed to provide a cruising range of approximately 750 km, an increase of 30% over the previous FCV model. The hydrogen tank can be refilled in approximately three minutes.

The car also features an electric motor that develops 130 kW and 300 Nm of torque. In combination with a portable external power output device (the Power Exporter 9000), the Clarity Fuel Cell can function as a power source on wheels. Honda claims that it is capable of supplying approximately 7 days’ worth of electricity to an average household.

For the first year of Clarity Fuel Cell sales in Japan, Honda will focus on lease sales, mainly to local government bodies & businesses. The company will collect information about the in-market use of the Clarity Fuel Cell as well as the external power output device, gather opinions & requests from customers, and then begin sales to individual customers.

Honda will start with a small production volume. The company will expand production eventually and is planning to introduce the Clarity Fuel Cell in Europe and USA before the end of 2016.