Eleven years from now, do you think it's likely that you could go down to your local auto center to test drive (and purchase) a car that runs on a hydrogen-powered fuel cell? If you're Takeo *** the president of Honda Motor *** the answer is “yes.”
Fukui made the pronouncement in a recent interview with Japan's Kyodo News Service.
“In 2018, I believe the development (of a fuel-cell car) will have been very advanced,” he said, adding, “It will become a real possibility to a large degree.”
Honda has already announced that it will begin to lease a small number of fuel-cell–powered vehicles in 2008. The automaker has already premiered the Honda FCX concept car (pictured), which runs on hydrogen-powered fuel cells, at various auto shows in the past few months, and the FCX is the likely candidate for leasing when Honda makes its fuel-cell vehicles available to the public.
Mr. *** in commenting on next year's likely availability of the FCX, noted that “(b)y evolving a next model based on this, I think the level of technology will become very close to that of mass-produced ordinary vehicles within ten years or so.”
Another Japanese manufacturer, Nissan Motor *** has said that it has plans to market a fuel-cell vehicle both in Japan and in North America sometime in the early 2010s.
Our take? We have no doubt about Honda or, for that matter, Nissan or any other automaker in the manufacturing of fuel cell vehicles. However, we've heard little news from the government or the private sector on developing hydrogen fuel stations. Personally, unless such stations are readily available to the public, fuel cell vehicles will continue to be an auto show oddity.