The First Plug-in Battery Hydrogen Gasoline Cell Electrical Goes on Sale
This week Honda introduced pricing for the CR-V e:FCEV, which is scheduled to go on sale in California (solely) subsequent month. In a first-ever know-how pairing, Honda has mated plug-in battery electrical and hydrogen gas cell electrical within the all-new 2025 CR-V e:FCEV. This breaks the norm of a gas cell car run solely on hydrogen. The e:FCEV advances the corporate’s zero emissions targets–100-percent of its automobiles will probably be battery electrical or gas cell electrical fashions by 2040, and the corporate will attain carbon neutrality by 2050. Clear Fleet Report obtained an opportunity to provide the mannequin a brief check drive lately forward of the general public launch.
Getting To Know the CR-V e:FCEV
2025 CR-V e:FCEV, plug-in hydrogen gas cell electrical car, is actually a CR-V Hybrid with the addition of plug-in charging and with hydrogen changing gasoline. With a 270-mile all-electric driving vary (AER) from the 92.2 kW electrical motor fed with electrical energy created by the gas cell, and as much as 29 miles of vary coming from the 17.7 kWh battery, this mixture presents some fascinating prospects for California drivers.
A chemical course of using oxygen and compressed hydrogen takes place within the gas cell, creating electrical energy to energy the motor and cost the lithium-ion battery. The by-product is water vapor that harmlessly drips from the tailpipe, making the e:FCEV a zero-emission car. The gas cell stack is a joint challenge between Honda and Normal Motors.
The e:FCEV’s plug-in battery fees in lower than two hours with a Degree 2 240V EV charger, or about 10 hours utilizing a typical 120V family plug. Degree 3, DC Quick Charging shouldn’t be obtainable. Charging nightly and driving below 29 miles will imply much less want for hydrogen gas, which is at the moment obtainable at one among about 50 stations in California.
Gasoline financial system is measured as MPGe (miles per gallon equal). The CR-V is rated at 61 MPGe metropolis/52 freeway/57 mixed utilizing a mixture of the electrical battery and compressed hydrogen gas. MPGe is a measurement of how far a automotive can journey electrically, on the identical quantity of power as is contained in a single gallon of gasoline.
The closest comparisons for hydrogen-only automobiles are the Toyota Mirai and Hyundai Nexo, however there aren’t any direct rivals utilizing this distinctive mixture know-how.
Pricing
Accessible in a single trim stage and for lease solely, the 2025 CR-V e:FCEV is priced at $50,000 (about $10,000 greater than the highest trim stage gasoline CR-V Hybrid), which incorporates the necessary $1,350 supply and dealing with payment. It is going to qualify for federal and California tax credit, in addition to the coveted HOV sticker that permits for a single driver to make use of the carpool lane. See your tax advisor earlier than visiting your native Honda supplier. Three lease plans will probably be supplied:
- $489/month for 2 years
- $459/month for 3 years
- $389/month for six years
- All plans have $2,959 due at signing, enable for 12,000 miles per 12 months (besides the two-year time period that permits 60,000 miles) and supply $15,000 per 12 months in credit score for hydrogen fueling (the two-year time period has a $25,000 credit score).
Drives Likes a Crossover (As a result of it’s a crossover!)
Our time behind the wheel was on metropolis streets and parkways, spiced-up a bit with some twisties to assault. Honda shouldn’t be advertising and marketing the e:FCEV as a sport compact crossover, but it surely held its personal properly as we carved a two-lane nation street, following alongside a river that was lined with California oak timber. The front-wheel drive e:FCEV with 235/60 all-season tires on 18-inch wheels, has a MacPherson strut entrance and multilink rear suspension that has been re-tuned for the e:FCEV. Further suspension tweaks embody particular springs, amplitude-sensitive dampers and stabilizer bars entrance and rear to optimize responsiveness.
The e:FCEV drives likes a really competent, gasoline or gasoline-electric hybrid crossover, with its electrical drivetrain solely making it smoother and quieter.
The e:FCEV’s efficiency from the 174 horsepower electrical motor with 229 pound-feet of torque produces an 8.5 second 0-60 mph time. Whereas not quick by EV requirements, it would get the job accomplished for getting into freeways, which is what the e:FCEV will probably be doing quite a lot of as it would solely be leased in California when it hits sellers in July.
There drive modes are Regular, Econ, Sport and Snow, with Regular and Sport our favorites for accelerator really feel and efficiency. Prolonged 65+ mph cruising is when Econ can be thought-about, however know the accelerator pedal is dumbed-down a bit and the A/C doesn’t run at full pop, each of that are compromises for getting extra vary.
The e:FCEV shouldn’t be obtainable with all-wheel drive and few hydrogen fueling stations within the Sierra Nevadas, the Snow mode most likely won’t be known as on too typically.
Having beforehand pushed a 2024 CR-V Hybrid, the 500-pound weight distinction between the 2 was noticeable, however not in a nasty manner as the additional heft gave a stable really feel to the journey, including to secure dealing with. Braking on the e:FCEV was a bit longer than the hybrid, however as soon as understood, adjusting for it was not a difficulty.
The CR-V e:FCEV has regenerative braking that’s set by pulling the left steering wheel paddle 4 instances to extend, 4 instances on the correct paddle to lower. Even within the fullest setting the regenerative braking pressure shouldn’t be very robust in comparison with most EVs we’ve got pushed.
It’s not a full one-pedal driving system that mechanically shuts off when slowing to seven miles per hour. At this level, apply the brake pedal to cease, set the Brake Maintain button, and the e:FCEV will keep in place till you press the accelerator. Each the regenerative stage not being robust and never having true one-pedal driving had been curious. Nonetheless, as we had been reminded by the Honda workforce, the CR-V e:FCEV we drove in March 2024 was a prototype, and with the on-sale just a few months away, issues could change on the manufacturing mannequin.
Modern Design/Comfy Inside
Design-wise, the CR-V e:FCEV and the CR-V Hybrid are comparable. Refined-but-obvious variations are the e:FCEV is three inches longer, the entrance finish is sleeker with a smaller higher grille and it has completely different decrease entrance and rear fascia, slim headlights that result in an extended hood, new vertical tail lights and 18-inch, 10-spoke black wheels.
The CR-V Hybrid e:FCEV is available in one trim stage of Touring. The driving force and passenger seats are heated, with energy changes. The cockpit design is much like the CR-V Hybrid, with a ten.2-inch digital car data display, and a 9.0-inch HD touchscreen for the 12-speaker Bose audio system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
General, the construct high quality was at a excessive stage. The honeycomb sample sprint panel, gentle surfaces on the sprint and door panels, wi-fi cellphone charging, heated steering wheel and twin zone local weather management made for a welcoming cabin. The shift-by-wire gear selector, situated within the heart console, opens house in comparison with a standard shift lever.
The reclining (good contact, Honda!) rear seats are made for grown people: two comfortably however three for brief jaunts. The rear seat, divided by the fold down armrest with cup holders, had ample leg and shoulder room. With no sunroof possibility, the pinnacle room was wonderful.Whereas the rear seat folds 60:40 for storage, the house is compromised a bit because the 4.3 kilogram gas tanks had been positioned below the rear seat. Nonetheless, the recessed storage space within the far rear of the cargo space has a canopy to offer wandering eyes from recognizing tucked away valuables.
Security
All CR-V (gasoline, hybrid and e:FCEV) fashions come customary with energetic and passive security options equivalent to entrance and aspect air baggage. Honda Sensing, Honda’s superior driver help programs (ADAS), contains ahead collision and street departure mitigation, lane preserve help, and adaptive cruise management.
Guarantee
- Fundamental – Three years/36,000 miles
- Plug-in and Hydrogen Methods – Eight years/100,000 miles
- Upkeep – One 12 months/Limitless miles
- Roadside Help – Three years/Limitless miles
Availability
The 2025 CR-V Hybrid e:FCEV will probably be obtainable at these 12 California Honda sellers.
Northern California
- Dublin
- Oakland
- Palo Alto
- Roseville
- Serramonte (Colma)
- Stevens Creek (San Jose)
Southern California
- Cerritos
- Culver Metropolis
- Irvine
- Pasadena
- Torrance
- Woodland Hills
Hydrogen Concerns
- Hydrogen prices (as of June 2024) $33 per kilogram (kg), so the e:FCEV’s 4.3 kg tank will value about $142 to fill (after all, Honda covers that value as a part of the lease). It takes about 5 minutes to fill the tank.
- Hydrogen gas stations, similar to electrical charging stations, have a spotty report of not being operational always. This is the reason it’s essential to make use of an availability web site, such because the one from the Hydrogen Gasoline Cell Partnership.
- Hydrogen costs fluctuate in a broader vary than gasoline or electrical energy. In 2022, it was $16 per kilogram in comparison with now the place it sits round.
- Versus an electrical automotive, the associated fee to fueling distinction is substantial. The associated fee to cost an electrical automotive with a 66 kWh battery and 300 miles of vary (similar to the 270 AER of the CR-V e:FCEV), with a California common of 19.39¢ per kilowatt hour for electrical energy, would value about $12,. With a house charger and photo voltaic panels, the associated fee to cost an EV can be even much less.
- The e:FCEV shouldn’t be a automotive to be pushed exterior California since there isn’t any nationwide hydrogen fueling community.
The State and Way forward for Hydrogen
There are about 50 working hydrogen gas stations in California, and the provision of hydrogen is usually spotty. For perspective, China, which is way bigger than California, has 250 and Japan, which is roughly the identical measurement as California however populated by 3 times as many individuals, has 160 stations.
The state has acknowledged hydrogen-powered automobiles as a part of its drive to zero-out tailpipe emissions (and the ensuing harmful smog) for 3 a long time and helped help the event of automobiles and infrastructure. The hydrogen fueling station community is slowly being constructed out, funded partially with state help that averaged $20 million/12 months for the previous couple a long time.
In October 2023 Gov. Newsom signed a funding invoice to speculate $106 million within the building of extra hydrogen stations by means of the tip of the last decade, for the primary time backing stations for business automobiles in addition to passenger automobiles. The necessity for extra stations is critical if this gas is to ever achieve client acceptance for his or her on a regular basis automobiles.
Honda is betting (and investing massive) in hydrogen gas. Along with the 2025 CR-V e:FCEV for shoppers, Honda Motor Firm and Isuzu Motors Restricted are branching into business automobiles. The Giga Gasoline Cell, a zero-emissions FCEV heavy-duty truck with an estimated 500-mile vary, was proven for the primary time on the Japan Mobility Present 2023. Projections are to introduce a manufacturing mannequin within the Japan market in 2027.
Honda showcased a proof-of-concept Class 8 hydrogen gas cell truck on the ACT Expo in Could 2024, and is in talks with potential prospects. Honda additionally hopes to use its gas cell system to building gear, equivalent to excavators and wheel loaders, to assist main the development business to carbon neutrality.
Honda is following its rival, Toyota, which with Kenworth debuted a co-developed a Class 8 FCEV truck, code named Ocean, with a zero-emission 300-mile vary, in 2022. Peterbilt additionally labored with Toyota and presents its Mannequin 579HFC on the market. Volvo Group and Daimler Vehicles even have a three way partnership to develop gas cell know-how.
Observations: 2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV
The Honda CR-V compact crossover utility car (CUV) has been probably the most well-liked CUVs in America and accounts for greater than 56 p.c of Honda’s CUV/SUV gross sales and a 3rd of all of the model’s gross sales. Updates since its debut in 1997 included the primary CR-V Hybrid in 2020.
Subsequent, the all-new 2025 CR-V e:FCEV will probably be launched in July 2024. Jay Joseph, VP sustainability, confirmed that is persevering with Honda’s “long-term funding and 40 years of expertise” in electrification, and its quest to “make hydrogen extra accessible” to the general public.
Remember the 2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV will solely be leased in California, and solely 300 are dedicated to being constructed yearly. In comparison with its FCEV rivals (additionally solely bought or leased in California), the Toyota Mirai (357 to 402 AER) and Hyundai Nexo (354 AER) it has a decrease general driving vary. However these fashions don’t have a plug.
The important thing to creating the 2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV work (and its ace within the gap) to your funds and comfort, will probably be dwelling charging and utilizing the 29 all-electric mile driving vary to its fullest at any time when doable. If most of your driving is near dwelling, and you might be tempted to take the hydrogen plunge, then the Honda CR-V e:FCEV could also be a greater hydrogen gas cell electrical car possibility.
Honda’s check of the e:FCEV for the way a plug-in hydrogen gas cell car operates in the actual world will reveal its acceptance by the general public. And so they couldn’t have accomplished it in a greater place since Californian’s are EV-savvy and EV-crazy (and have cumulatively bought greater than 15,000 gas cell automobiles).
It is going to be constructed by-hand in Marysville, Ohio at Honda’s Efficiency Manufacturing Middle, the identical facility that hand-built the very sporty Acura NSX.
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Story and images by John Faulkner
The publish Flash Drive: 2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV first appeared on Clear Fleet Report.
