Honda Highlights Its Future Plans At Detroit

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Jan 15, 2015

While the Japanese auto leader Toyota (TM, Financial) has unwrapped the features that it's introducing in its first hydrogen car "Mirai" that is expected to contend with the likes of Tesla (TSLA, Financial); another automaker from Japan, Honda Motors (HMC, Financial), is trying to compete at the same level by adding a new hydrogen fuel-cell model at the Detroit Auto Show. In fact, this model has already made its debut in Japan at the Tokyo Auto Show last November and at this show Honda is possibly taking attendees through its latest advancements in car technology. At the show Honda outlined its plans to move to hybrids and FCV technology by 2018. Let’s quickly peek in and find out what was revealed by Honda at Detroit with regard to its future vehicles which are expected to hit the market by next year.

The FCV at Detroit

The Japanese automaker seems to be making strategies to compete with Toyota, and that’s the major reason why the management stated that it previews a production car having similar features to the fuel-cell vehicle concept showcased at the Detroit Auto Show to hit the U.S. roads by late spring 2016, just in time to punch it out with Toyota’s Mirai.

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The automaker has announced that it has revised its fuel cell technology to become more efficient and compact – that’s why the hydrogen fuel stack is now 33% smaller than the one that debuted in 2008 in the FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle which has been recently called off from production. The new fuel cell power train now fits completely beneath the hood which in turn frees up space elsewhere in the vehicle. The fuel cell stack has 60% more power density than that primarily offered through the FCX Clarity.

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Contrary to the Mirai which runs on similar technology and takes around 7-9 minutes for refuelling, the Honda FCV can refill a hydrogen fuel cell by 3 minutes. Emission would remain the bare minimum which comprises water vapour from the tailpipe as seen in fuel cell vehicles which are refuelled with hydrogen. Thus, Honda expects to rule the fuel cell vehicle market over and above Toyota in the long run.

Other developments in place

During this show, Honda has officially announced its plans to bring in a new battery-electric model and plug-in hybrid by 2018 which might challenge the likes of Model S or Model 3 of Tesla. This would be followed by two- and three-motor hybrid systems in the pursuant years.

Honda had already declared while the debut of the FCV vehicle was done in November that it would be investing in building proper infrastructure in California before its FCV hits its roads by 2016 and the investment amounts to nearly $13.8 million as financial assistance to FirstElement Fuel who has taken the funding to build more hydrogen fueling stations in California. And the plan of action has yet to take shape.

As car makers are slowly shifting to hybrids, electric vehicles and fuel cell technologies, one thing is sure, that Honda is also not far behind in the race to emerge as the market winner in such segments. Though the Honda FCX Clarity did not get a green signal in the market, its newly made fuel cell vehicle has an improved powertrain and more room for passengers – both of these were missing in the former vehicle.

Last word

At Detroit where over 40 vehicles are about to be unwrapped by global automakers, Honda has indeed stolen the show with its latest developments which have appealed to the U.S. masses. Now, we need to wait for the FCV to be produced in reality from a mere concept car and only then would it be possible to assess its dominance over Toyota’s Mirai in the long run. Also we need to wait and watch for the latest hybrids and EVs from Honda’s existing facilities. So, let’s stay tuned!