July 26th 2002
HONDA, TOYOTA IN LAST LAP OF FUEL-CELL RACE
Source: Asahi News Service
AThe nation's top two automakers are shifting into
high gear to earn a place in automotive
history by becoming the first company in the world to
roll out a commercial fuel-cell vehicle.
Honda Motor Co. said Wednesday it will market a fuel-cell
car at the end of 2002, one year
ahead of its initial schedule.
The announcement came just weeks after a similar decision
from archrival Toyota Motor
Corp.
For automakers around the world, the stakes are huge.
Fuel-cell vehicles, which are
powered by hydrogen and produce no emissions, are eventually
expected to become an
environmentally friendly alternative to conventional
motor vehicles powered by internal
combustion engines.
Toyota earned plaudits for being the first to commercialize
an eco-friendly gas-electric hybrid
vehicle.
Honda expects to lease about 30 of its FCX fuel-cell vehicles
in their first two to three years
on the market. The vehicles will be available only in
the Tokyo metropolitan area and the U.S.
state of California.
The FCX, loaded with 160 liters of pressurized hydrogen,
can travel 355 kilometers on a
single, three-minute charge of its fuel cell.
In mid-July, the FCX became the first model to be certified
as a fuel-cell vehicle by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air
Resources Board. Approval by the
two key U.S. regulatory authorities is required for sales
in California.
Toyota said on July 1 that it plans to begin leasing fuel-cell
vehicles at the end of this year,
also one year ahead of its initial schedule.
The automaker plans to lease about 20 fuel-cell vehicles
a year, mainly to Japanese and U.S.
government agencies. However, it has yet to obtain approval
from U.S. authorities.
