Honda unveiled its new fuel cell vehicle, the five-seater Clarity Fuel Cell. The sales have begun in Japan on Wednesday for a high price of 7.66 million yen ($67,000) a unit, mainly targeted to local government institutions or businesses before entering the individual markets.

For its first year, Honda only targets sales of just 200 vehicles in Japan. The company stated that it will focus on lease sales mainly to local government bodies or businesses. During the first-year period, Honda will also focus on collecting information about the in-market use of its Clarity Fuel Cell and gather diverse opinions and requests from customers. After that, Honda will start selling the vehicle to individual customers. 

The Honda Clarity Fuel Cell is the world's first five-seater fuel cell vehicle (FCV). Designing and manufacturing a five-seater FCV is a remarkable feat. The vehicle used an advanced technology to make the fuel cell more powerful and compact, fitting it entirely under the hood of the five-seater car.

CAR elaborated that the cell thickness in the stack was reduced by 20 percent, reducing the overall stack size by a third. The reduction was made without impacting the cells' performance of 173bhp. The vehicle's performance and efficiency are also supported by sharper aerodynamics. The increase in they vehicle's hydrogen carrying capacity also boosted range to an impressive 435 miles, while refueling will only take three minutes.

According to Belfast Telegraph, Honda's fuel cell became the first to be certified by the US Environment Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board in 2002. The Clarity Fuel Cell will hit the markets in California later this year. Honda is also a pioneer in fuel cell technology which its creation of Civic and the Asimo robot. The company also claims to be one of the first automakers to begin focusing attention on hydrogen over concerns for global warming and depletion of fossil fuels.

In the press release published by ACN Newswire, the Japanese carmaker revealed that they will begin with small-volume production at the Production Supervisory Unit and Powertrain Production Supervisory Unit. Eventually, the company will expand the production volume. Before the end of the year, Honda will start introducing the Clarity Fuel Cell to Europe and the U.S.

Honda starts selling the world's first five-seater fuel cell vehicle, the Clarity Fuel Cell, in Japan. During the first year of its debut, Honda will sell 200 units to mainly government institutions and business before rolling it out for public.