Honda previews new fuel-cell vehicle

Honda has announced plans to build a new hydrogen-powered fuel-cell electric vehicle ahead of its debut at the 2014 Los Angeles motor show.

The Honda FCV Concept is set to be a successor to the FCX Clarity sedan, featuring improved efficiency in an aerodynamic package that follows lines pioneered by the original Honda Insight hybrid of 1997.

The manufacturer says the hydrogen-powered machine has 100kW electric motor and a range of more than 700 kilometres from a new fuel stack that is 33 per cent smaller than its previous efforts.

New packaging has made the FCV Concept the first car of its kind to combine all elements of its power train under the bonnet, leaving plenty of conventional space in the cabin and boot.

The car has room for five adults and is set to go on sale in Japan from March 2016 before arriving in the US and Europe.

The car is unlikely to come to Australia, which lacks hydrogen refuelling stations necessary to run the new FCV.

It offers an additional dash of practicality through a separate power exporter that should allow owners to pump up to 9kW of energy into their home or business, reducing greenhouse emissions through conventional energy sources.

Honda says the car "can function as a small-sized mobile power plant that generates and provides electricity to the community in times of disaster or other events".

Honda's preview of its fuel cell car comes the same day that Toyota confirmed the name for its production-ready, hydrogen-fuelled Mirai sedan which goes on sale in Japan, the US and Europe next year.