It’ll run on battery power or hydrogen.
While we already know Honda is getting ready to release its first all-electric SUV in 2024 with the Honda Prologue, it looks like that’s not the only SUV that’ll run on alternative fuel systems. Today, the automaker announced it’ll start U.S. production on a new Honda CR-V hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) in 2024.
Interestingly enough, Honda recently completely redesigned the CR-V (shown above), and while it’s still a hybrid, the next model will kick things up a notch. That’s because the 2025 model will be a plug-in hybrid, but instead of running on a battery and gasoline, it’ll have an electric motor alongside one that runs on hydrogen.
In an effort to go fully electric by 2040, then be carbon neutral by 2050, the company is diving head-first into electrified and fuel-cell vehicles. The automaker said it would produce the CR-V (FCEV) at its Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville, Ohio, near the end of 2024.
The idea here is you’ll be able to drive daily commutes with the electric system. However, on longer trips, owners will still emit nearly zero emissions (and avoid the gas station) using the hydrogen system. And while filling up with hydrogen is faster than charging and takes about as long as it does to pump a tank of gas, hydrogen stations are few and far between.
For what it’s worth, this isn’t the first hydrogen vehicle from Honda, not to mention others from Toyota, Hyundai, and GM. That said, many thought Honda was abandoning the idea after canceling its expensive Honda Clarity fuel-cell car in 2021.
We don’t have many other details about the vehicle, performance numbers, or an estimated price point. While this will be one of the first hybrid EV fuel cell vehicles, it doesn’t sound like Honda will make very many. That’s because manufacturing is at the same factory that typically handles small volumes, like the Acura NSX. Expect to learn more sometime next year.
via TechCrunch
