On November 12, 2013 Honda decided to show off their FCEV Concept sketch. Yesterday in in Los Angeles, Honda unveiled the real deal (pictured above) and if you compare both you can see the resemblance.
According to Automotive News, “Honda unveiled the 5-passenger vehicle at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday. It doesn’t have a formal name, for now, and is referred to simply by the acronym for a fuel cell electric vehicle — the ‘FCEV Concept.’
“The fuel cell vehicle is expected to launch in the United States and Japan in 2015, but the odds are the car won’t make an appearance in most U.S. showrooms until well beyond that year.”
Honda is currently leasing the FCX Clarity to select drivers for $600 per month and a 3 year contract. The new FCEV Concept car looks to be quite a design shift from the Clarity. Honda says it expects to launch a consumer fuel cell car in 2015, but they don’t yet have a price for the vehicle.
What is wrong with the Clarity? I was under the impression that the Clarity will be Honda’s first commercial fuel cell car. A redesign doesn’t make sense and seems costl,y unless the vehicle is mass produced and it benefits from cost reducing technology. At $5-k tp $100k, forget most people buying a fuel cell car. Even the greenies are going to wonder if paying 3 times the cost of a conventional vehicle is reasonable. The talk would change if the Obama administration would phase out DEQ licensing of conventional vehicles and fund the building of fueling stations. The automakers aren’t getting a green light on fuel cells and it is a big problem.
Awesome concept car! I have to say im not a fan of how the rear end looks, but overall very nice!