One year after the environmental friendly Honda Fit EV concept car was unveiled at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show, the Japanese carmaker chose this year’s edition of the same motor show to present the production version of that concept which is scheduled to enter production pretty soon.
Sold in some markets, including Europe, as the Honda Jazz, the Fit EV was upgraded from almost all point of views. The most obvious one is the exterior styling, where Honda wanted to make sure everyone recognizes the car’s green character when spotting it on the street. Both the frontal part and the rear part feature redesigned bumpers, while the missing front grille immediately stands out from the crowd.
On the interior, the most important change compared to the regular Fit powered by conventional engines is the integrating of a whole new instrument panel that is adapted to display the most important about the car’s electric powertrain.
And speaking of the powertrain, the Honda Fit EV is powered by a coaxial electric motor delivering 125 hp powered by a Lithium-ion battery with a 20 kWh capacity. According to the Japanese carmaker, the driving autonomy offered by the powertrain is 198 km (123 miles) on a single charge and using the Econ driving mode (is the most efficient one). Because it considers it to deliver great efficiency and power, the engine powering the new Fit EV was taken from the Honda FCX Clarity fuel cell electric vehicle. As for the battery charging time, Honda engineers claim a full recharging cycle will take around 3 hours.
John Mendel, the executive vice president of sales at American Honda Motor said: “The Fit EV is the next critical step in Honda’s portfolio approach to alternative fueled vehicles [..] There is no other automaker on the planet whose spirit is more deeply invested in the effort to realize a cleaner, more energy efficiency and ultimately more sustainable transportation future than Honda.”
In the United States, the Honda Fit EV will be priced starting with a MSRP of $36,625 (the estimated lease price is $399) and will only be available in select dealerships in Oregon and California starting with the summer of 2012. After that, the car will go on sale in six other states on the East Coast. Honda doesn’t want to make any estimations about sales so far, but the press release mentions that they’re hoping on selling around 1,100 units in the next three years.