December 3, 2002—Honda Motor Co., Ltd. delivered a Honda FCX fuel cell vehicle yesterday (December 2nd) to the Japanese Prime Minister’s Official Residence. The vehicle, built to Japanese specifications, is being leased by the Cabinet Office. On the same day (U.S. Pacific Standard Time) another Honda FCX built to U.S. specifications was delivered to Los Angeles City Hall in the U.S. The FCX is the world’s first fuel cell vehicle to obtain U.S. government approval for commercialization.

At the delivery ceremony at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence, attended by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Takeo Hiranuma, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Chikage Ogi, Minister of the Environment Shunichi Suzuki, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, Honda President & CEO Hiroyuki Yoshino made the following statement: “In an environment of intense international competition to develop fuel cell vehicle technology, I am extremely happy to be able to deliver the world’s first fuel cell passenger vehicle for official use here today. While proud of the performance of this vehicle, we are aware of the challenges to be overcome before the fuel cell vehicle can enjoy more widespread use. We will continue to show our leadership worldwide in this vital area of technological development.” Honda plans to lease more fuel cell vehicles to other government ministries and to corporations.

Another vehicle delivery ceremony took place at Los Angeles City Hall, with Mayor James K. Hahn in attendance. “The future of the fuel cell vehicle shows great promise in reducing the global dependence on oil, and our association with the great City of Los Angeles is an important step in the pursuit of this goal.”, said Honda President & CEO Hiroyuki Yoshino.

The City of Los Angeles has agreed to lease five Honda FCX’s, including the one delivered at this ceremony. They will be used by city employees for commuting and regular business activities, generating a range of information to be used in further developing the fuel cell vehicle for practical use in everyday life.

The FCX utilizes Honda’s own independently developed high-efficiency, high-output ultra-capacitor energy storage system to achieve powerful, responsive driving performance. Layout of the powertrain’s structural components has also been optimized to attain a spacious interior with room for four adults in a compact body that maintains a high level of collision safety performance no matter what the crash direction. Honda initially plans a limited market release of approximately thirty vehicles over the first two to three years in Japan and the U.S. combined.