June 2008

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Honda will cut the ribbon on what it says will be the world’s first dedicated fuel cell vehicle production facility during ceremonies planned for the middle of June. The choice of words - “facility” rather than “plant” - in the company’s early-May announcement seems to indicate it will be a rather modest operation at the start, not a sprawling factory: Honda says it plans to build and deliver about 200 FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell cars during the next three years to selected customers, with 3-year $600/month leases starting in July for consumers in California. Some 50,000 persons had contacted the company’s website asking to be among the “early adopters who will play a critical role in the maintstreaming of fuel cell cars,” as John Mendel, American Honda’s executive vice president, put it. Honda didn’t say where the facility is located.