Honda Announces Lease Packages for Fuel Cell CR-V

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If you live in SoCal or NoCal, you’ve got a chance to lease a piece of what could be the automotive future. Could be.

By Gary S. Vasilash

Honda has announced its three lease options for Californians—who can access one of the 12 approved dealerships—interested in the 2025 CR-V e:FCEV, a fuel-cell electric version of its popular crossover.

Looks like a Honda CR-V because it is one. What makes this one—which is manufactured at the Honda Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio—uses a second-generation fuel cell module produced by a Honda-GM joint venture in Michigan. Some people in California can lease the CR-V e:FCEV. (Image; Honda)

Honda thinks that the most popular option will be 3 years/36,000 miles. This will require $2,959 at signing, then monthly payments of $459.

The least expensive is a 6-year/72,000-mile program that requires $2,889 at signing and $389 per month.

The most expensive is 2 years/60,000 miles, which requires $2,989 at signing and $489 per month.

However, given that mileage allowance, perhaps it pencils well for those who drive a lot: 30,000 miles per year vs. 12,000 miles for the other two lease deals.

Honda is adding an incentive for the lease packages in the form of hydrogen fuel credits: $15,000 for the 3-year lease, $30,000 for the 6-year lease and $25,000 for the 2-year lease.

While that appears to be exceedingly serious money, it is worth knowing that the average cost of a kilogram of hydrogen, which is comparable from an energy standpoint to a gallon of gas, is about $33 in California.

So that means for $15,000 one will get ~455 kg (again, think “gallons”) at the pump.

With gas at about $5.40 per gallon in California, were one to have that deal it would translate into 2,778 gallons.

The CR-V e:FCEV, which has a battery that provides up to 29 miles of range (this is charged via a plug), has a total range of 270 miles. It has a 4.3-kg fuel tank.

Some good news is that to fill one of the vehicles it is pretty much just like fueling a gasoline CR-V both in terms of procedure and time, something that can’t be said for battery-powered electric vehicles.

Still, with that cost of hydrogen, one really has to be dedicated to an environmental vehicle regardless of the fuel credits.