Honda Announces CRV e:FCEV Deliveries will Start July with Generous Hydrogen Tax Credit Incentivized Leasing Options
After a long time of development and recently starting production, Honda announced today that their Honda CRV e:FCEV, a hydrogen fuel cell electric plug in hybrid version of the CRV, will have its first ever deliveries starting next month in California, where the vehicle will be exclusively leased.
They announced that it’d be leasing based off of a MSRP of $50,000, although wouldn’t be offering any direct purchasing of the vehicle. The leasing options offer generously attractive hydrogen fuel credit incentives that can be used to offset the expensive cost of hydrogen, varying based on the lease option selected by the purchaser, seen below. With passenger car retail hydrogen prices hovering around $30/kg, hydrogen tax credits help reduce the fuel cost burden of driving a vehicle like this. Assuming hydrogen prices remain around $30/kg (much more expensive than gasoline in California on a per mile basis), the $15,000 hydrogen tax credit would last around 31,400 miles on just fueling the vehicle with hydrogen.
Additionally, Honda is offering up to 21 day rental vehicles from Avis while in California, 24/7 roadside assistance, and eligibility for California's Clean Air Vehicle Stickers to allow single-occupant HOV access.
Fortunately for the Honda CRV e:FCEV, there’s a 17.7kWh battery pack which can be charged directly since it’s a plug in hybrid. With a 29 mile range on the battery alone when fully charged, this is enough for most people’s daily driving, allowing them to charge their car overnight if they have an EV charger at home for the next day. Charging the battery from home would significantly reduce the owner’s fuel cost and allow them to stretch their fuel credit longer by not needing to use it nearly as much. If the owner did need to have that extra range, the vehicle is EPA rated at 270 miles, and while this isn’t any more than your average battery electric vehicle, it can be refueled in under 5 minutes allowing you to get back on the road faster.
While this is isn’t the most convenient vehicle in terms of finding hydrogen to fuel up, the leasing options and hydrogen tax credits make it a very attractive vehicle for certain Californian buyers that can make it work.