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Automotive

Honda flashes a glimpse at its next-generation fuel cell vehicle

By C.C. Weiss
November 12, 2013
Honda flashes a glimpse at its next-generation fuel cell vehicle
Honda FCEV teaser
Honda FCEV teaser
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Honda FCEV teaser
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Honda FCEV teaser

Honda plans to hit the Tokyo Motor Show hard with concepts. Creating a multi-theater concept attack, the automaker will save at least one reveal for the LA Auto Show, which runs at the same time. The fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) Concept previews the styling direction of its next fuel cell vehicle, which will launch in 2015.

"The Honda FCEV Concept demonstrates the company's vision for the future of personal mobility and our commitment to developing advanced alternative fuel vehicles," says Mike Accavitti, senior vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "As we work toward the introduction of our next-generation fuel-cell vehicle in 2015, our long-term experience with fuel-cell technologies will help us pave a way towards a zero-emissions future."

Honda began offering fuel cell leases with the FCX in 2002, followed by the FCX Clarity a few years later. It says that about two dozen customers are driving FCX Clarity vehicles today, enjoying the benefits of the advanced alternative-fuel technology while returning beta-style feedback.The FCEV will serve as the basis of their successor.

Honda describes the FCEV design as futuristic and aerodynamic design, and its face and profile are certainly sliced and diced by air intakes. The car also appears to have a set of aero-optimized wheels, though those could just be fancy concept-car jewelry.

If you're as obsessed with cars as we are, Christmas comes a little early this year. Both the LA and Tokyo auto shows open up to the media on November 20. Gizmag will be on the ground at both shows, so stay tuned for the latest in alternative fuels, concept cars, car tech and more.

Source: Honda

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AutomotiveConcept CarsHondaFuel Cell
6 comments
C.C. Weiss
C.C. Weiss
Chris joined the New Atlas team in 2011 and now serves as the automotive and campers editor, traveling extensively to gather the latest news on cars, outdoor sports gear and other innovations designed to help people experience and enjoy the greater world around them.

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6 comments
Tokenn
How long has Honda been working on fuel-cell cars...10 years or more? And it's still a 'concept'? That doesn't seem very hopeful to me.
ei3io
Fuel Cells vs Batteries is a long debate fueled by politics and lobbies.
The fact remains that Fuel Cells will always be lighter and quicker to refill, a huge transportation advantage, once the Hydrogen supply chain is developed,, which can all come from the sun. Oil lobbies also realize they can supply Hydrogen and very likely will compete with the sun which made their oil quite a few years ;-)
Hugh Shipman
The simple truth is, we're stuck in "concept mode" and have been for 50 years (or more). Fuel cells were invented in the 1960s and were used in the Apollo moon missions. This is NOT concept stuff any more. Fuel cells have been around far too long to still be called that. The simple reason we're stuck is is the oil industry. We will continue to see gas-burning cars until we, the public, stops griping and gets active and demands alternatives. We also have to kick the government in the seat of its pants and get it working for us. Right now, even though the oil industry is making record profits, our government is giving them tax rebates, subsidies and flat-out kickbacks which is money that could be going to alternative technologies instead--after all, that money technically belongs to us, the taxpayers. The auto makers would love to move us into the future with new ideas (case in point, GM's EV1 in the 1990s--250 miles/charge), but they won't (or perhaps can't) as long as the powerful oil industry holds a noose over their heads. The missing ingredient isn't tech (we have plenty of that--do we not?)--it's us, the public. We're sitting on the sidelines waiting for the bus to show up.
Jerry Peavy
The only reason that fuel cells continue to be developed is the oil companies. When the supplies of oil reach the level that they are not competitive with electricity (today) they have to switch to some other product that they can sell to the consumer at inflated prices. Electricity is the future of transportation and they know it!
euroflycars
Hugh, I'm entirely with you -- Big Oil is behind these unrealistic concepts in that automakers are just bound to please their most vital supplier, especially the Japanese who are now more than ever dependent on fossil fuels since Fukushima...
Yet Honda gives you at least a clue about their own awareness: it's all in the name particle "Teaser"!
Other brands have done so, like Citroën with their C0, which sounds like "C'est zéro" (it's nil, rubbish...), or Audi with its E-tron pronouncing like the French "étron" (a lump of poop)... of BMW with their i8 (I 'ate, which I believe to be slang for "I hate") -- and there's Mitsubishi with their i-miev, which in French is the root of "mièvre" (insipide, bland, vapid) and has the same pronouncing as the German "mief" (stuffy, stagnant, stale)...
Bruce Dp
fcvs make money for Oil and Auto companies. The hydrogen (h2) is not going to be made from renewable sources as touted, it is going to be made the cheapest way possible so Oil company profits are highest: it will most likely be made from natural gas, methane, ch4. And no one is talking about the disposal of the gunk left over after the reforming/extraction.
h2 prices are going to climb right along with petroleum prices. The price of the ch4 the U.S. imports is going up, and up. See http://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/ng_move_impc_s1_m.htm
fcvs are not a solution. They are being promoted by the companies that will profit: Oil and Auto.
Either see if an EV or plugin hybrid will suit your needs, or stay with your high mpge fuel car. {brucedp.150m.com}