First
Fuel Cell Vehicle Delivered to World’s Individual Customer
American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced the lease of its FCX,
a hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle, to the world’s first
individual customers, Jon and Sandy Spallino of Redondo Beach,
California. The Spallinos become the world’s first fuel cell
family, having signed an agreement to lease a 2005 Honda FCX for
a period of two years. Honda is the only automotive manufacturer
to certify its fuel cell vehicle for regular daily use and the
first to offer its technology to an individual customer. The Spallinos
will use the FCX in everyday normal use, including commuting to
work to Orange County, trips to school for their children, shopping
and household errands.
John Mendel, senior vice president, automotive operations, for
American Honda said, “our advanced fuel cell technology has
been proven and tested through a successful fleet sales partnership
over the last three years. With this announcement, Honda furthers
its commitment to the continued advancement of this technology,
with the ultimate goal of achieving large-scale commercialization
of fuel cell vehicles.”
The Spallino family, living in the Los Angeles area, will be among
the first individuals to begin utilizing the first of California’s
Hydrogen Highway refueling stations, a statewide infrastructure
build out underway to offer hydrogen refueling station access to
private individuals. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the
state’s commitment to a Hydrogen Highway in April of this
year, creating a public and private partnership to build California’s
Hydrogen Highway by 2010. “Without this initiative, we could
not be taking the steps we are today,” said Mendel.
As the next natural step in deployment of Honda fuel cell technology,
the lease of the FCX to the Spallino family will be the first of
several FCX vehicles to be leased to individual customers over
the next year. Honda’s leadership in hydrogen vehicle technology
also extends to a fleet of 13 FCX fuel cell vehicles in regular
daily use with six public municipal customers in California, New
York and Nevada.
“I’m looking forward to commuting to work and running
the kids around in the FCX,” said Jon Spallino, the first
retail customer to lease the FCX. “We’re really excited
about the opportunity to lease this car. The FCX drives just like
any other vehicle on the road — without the emissions.”
“The Spallino’s experience with the FCX will provide
Honda engineers with real-world driving experience and feedback
by an individual family, which will be invaluable as we design
future models,” said Mendel.
The Honda FCX is the first and only hydrogen vehicle to ever be
certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
California’s Air Resources Board (CARB). The EPA certified
the 2005 FCX as a Tier-2 Bin 1, and CARB certified the FCX as a
Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV).
The 2005 FCX model is powered by Honda’s originally developed
fuel cell stack (Honda FC Stack) with the breakthrough capability
to start and operate at sub-freezing temperatures as low as -4
degrees Fahrenheit, along with increased performance, range and
fuel efficiency compared with earlier models. The FCX was the first
fuel cell vehicle to be listed in the EPA’s fuel economy
guide in 2003. The 2005 FCX carries an EPA city/highway rating
of 62/51 miles per gallon and a range of 190 miles.
In April 2005, Honda announced it had begun limited retail sales
of its natural gas-powered Civic GX Sedan paired with a revolutionary
new home-refueling appliance called Phill. The Civic GX is the
cleanest internal combustion vehicle ever certified by the U.S.
EPA and, with the introduction of home refueling, has the lowest
fuel cost per mile of any new vehicle. The Phill appliance, manufactured
and marketed by FuelMaker Corporation, is an affordable home refueling
appliance that allows drivers the convenience of refueling their
vehicles at home using their existing natural gas supply. Phill
is available for lease through 17 authorized Honda Civic GX California
dealers.
Press Release: http://world.honda.com/news/2005/4050629.html
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