City Of Torrance To Test Honda Fit EV In Local Government Fleet

On January 20, Honda delivered a 2013 Fit EV battery-electric vehicle to the city of Torrance as one of the first major steps in the Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program, a prelude to the retail market launch of the Fit EV with customers in California and Oregon this summer.

The delivery was marked by a ceremony at the Torrance City Hall, at which a key to the Fit EV was presented to Torrance Mayor Frank Scotto by Steve Center, Vice President of the Environmental Business Development Office at American Honda.

Over the past year, the automaker and the city of Torrance have worked together to gather input from Torrance residents about potential recharging station locations and jointly participated in numerous public awareness events with a Fit EV test vehicle. The automaker and the city will continue to further these initiatives while also studying local government fleet usage of an electrified vehicle. The city of Torrance will also receive a Honda plug-in hybrid for additional testing at a later date.

The automaker unveiled the 2013 Fit EV at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show and announced plans to begin leasing the one hundred twenty-three city-mile per charge (seventy-six mile range combined adjusted city/highway) battery-electric commuter vehicle to its U.S. customers in the summer of 2012. Equipped with a twenty kWh lithium-ion battery and ninety-two kW coaxial electric motor, the Fit EV battery can be fully recharged in as little as three hours when connected to a 240-volt circuit.

As part of the Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program, the automaker will test the Fit EV with Google Inc. and Stanford University, in addition to the City of Torrance, CA. Each program participant will provide them with real-world feedback on the Fit EV. Individually, each participant will use the Fit EV to further initiatives such as research into human behavior and various usages like personal, fleet, and car-sharing.

In 2006, Honda became the first automaker to announce voluntary CO2 emissions reduction targets for its global fleet of automobile, powersports, and power equipment products and its global network of manufacturing plants. Today, the company is striving for even greater reductions in CO2 emissions that contribute to global climate change, while also working to minimize waste, water use, and the total environmental footprint of its operations worldwide.

NAFA Fleet Management Association
125 Village Blvd., Suite 200
Princeton, NJ 08540

Telephone: 609.720.0882 Fax: 609.452.8004