Honda Delivers Two Fuel Cell Vehicles to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) in California

American Honda Motor Co., Inc., this week delivered the first of two Honda FCX fuel cell vehicles, the world's first commercially certified fuel cell car, to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) at its headquarters in Diamond Bar, Calif. The delivery brings the number of Honda fuel cell cars on the road in the United States to twelve, including five vehicles with the city of Los Angeles, two with the city of San Francisco, two with the SCAQMD and three in Honda's demonstration fleet.

The two hydrogen-powered fuel cell cars will be leased for eighteen months at a cost of $500 per month. The SCAQMD will utilize the two vehicles on a regular daily basis as part of their fleet of alternative fuel vehicles.

"We are extremely pleased to include this Honda zero-emission fuel cell vehicle in our demonstration fleet," said Barry Wallerstein, SCAQMD's executive officer. "Honda's FCX drives great and will help show Southern Californians that fuel cell vehicles hold tremendous promise for reducing emissions and improving our air quality."

The Honda FCX delivery coincides with SCAQMD's planned opening of a public hydrogen refueling station at its headquarters this summer.

"We're very pleased to have SCAQMD as a customer for Honda fuel cell technology," said Gunnar Lindstrom, senior manager of Alternative Fuel Programs for American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "We applaud the vision and commitment that the leaders of SCAQMD have demonstrated by investing in the environment and hydrogen power."

The Honda FCX is the only FCV certified to meet all of the applicable federal safety standards, as well as the only fuel cell vehicle certified by the U.S. EPA and California Air Resources Board (CARB) for everyday commercial use. CARB has also certified the FCX as a Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) and it is the only EPA tested FCV to appear in the 2003 and 2004 EPA Fuel Economy Guide. The FCX has a range of up to 160 miles and seating for four people, making it a practical choice for a wide range of real-world applications. In 2003, the city of Los Angeles celebrated its one-year anniversary as the first Honda fuel cell customer with five fuel cell vehicles in every day fleet use. Earlier this year, the city of San Francisco also took delivery of two FCX vehicles for their alternative fuel fleet.

In addition to the current FCX, Honda has developed its own Fuel Cell stack with the ability to start in sub-zero temperatures, a major breakthrough for fuel cell technology. Recently, a successful cold-weather demonstration was conducted illustrating the vehicle's cold-weather performance capabilities and its ability to start in below freezing temperatures, a major hurdle in the drive to create a truly mass-marketable fuel cell vehicle. Honda will continue cold weather testing in Japan and the northeastern United States in its efforts to make widespread use of fuel cell vehicles a reality.

Honda undertook fuel cell research in 1989 and has been road testing vehicles in the United States since 1999. Honda has also been a member of the California Fuel Cell Partnership based in Sacramento, Calif., since 1999.