Honda has announced lease pricing for its upcoming CR-V e:FCEV fuel cell plug in hybrid, which operates either on electricity or hydrogen.
Honda first announced the CR-V e:FCEV earlier this year, and we got a chance to drive it at Honda’s California R&D center.
It’s an interesting idea that nobody’s done before. To help make up for the lack of hydrogen stations, you can fill the car’s 17.7kWh battery up with electricity at home for up to 29 miles of range of day to day use, and then fill up the 241-mile hydrogen tank, which is quicker to fill and has higher energy density than batteries, from time to time for longer trips.
When we drove it (and you can read our far too-detailed thoughts on it here), we got a lot of the technical stuff out of the way, but Honda hadn’t yet announced the specifics of its offering – just that it would be lease-only and would come with some amount of free hydrogen. Today, we’re finally getting the details.
Honda CR-V e:FCEV will lease for $389-$489/mo
Honda is offering three different lease deals on the CR-V e:FCEV, with two of them at a relatively standard 12k miles per year, and one high-mileage lease with a 2 year, 60,000 mile term.
2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV Touring Lease Options
Monthly payment
$459
$389
$489
Due at signing
$2,959
$2,889
$2,989
Lease term
3 years
6 years
2 years
Allowable mileage
36,000
72,000
60,000
Hydrogen fuel credit
$15,000
$30,000
$25,000
The monthly pricing is a little high compared to the great EV lease deals we’ve been seeing lately (e.g. Model 3 for less than a Camry, Hyundais for around $200/mo, or the Toyota bZ4X for next to nothing), but still fairly reasonable. And it comes with a free hydrogen fuel credit, which will help to make up for some of that difference in lease cost (and good thing, since hydrogen is currently ~$32/kg which means it’s $130+ to fill up its 4.3kg tank).
The lease also includes 21 days of free Avis rentals, but only in California – which is incidentally the only state that Honda will lease the car in.
The CR-V e:FCEV will be available starting July 9. Honda plans to offer about 300 vehicles for lease.
Electrek’s Take
While I do think it’s interesting what Honda is doing with the CR-V e:FCEV, it’s sort of a solution in search of a problem. But it’s also not much of a solution, since Honda plans to offer 300 of these vehicles in a state which has 30 million vehicles.
Honda says that working on fuel cell technology will help them hedge their bets, instead of focusing fully on BEV as most of the industry is doing. Honda is right that fuel cells could have a niche – but that niche is probably in heavy transport, not in light-duty consumer vehicles. Honda did recently show a Class 8 hydrogen truck concept, but it’s looking for partners to bring it to reality as it doesn’t currently make semi trucks itself.
And giving out free energy is fun, but it eliminates the whole point of the hybrid. Drivers can either pay for their own electricity, which is more efficient and ought to be cheaper than either gas or hydrogen, or they can go to the hydrogen station for free fuel.
This removes the EV convenience filling up at home, and just makes the vehicle a comparatively inconvenient hydrogen car, which will mostly end up being fueled at one of very few California hydrogen stations instead of in the comfort of the parking spot it returns to every single night. Because why would you fill up at home when hydrogen is free?
Conversely, with a BEV, you could have that convenience, and have more availability of DC chargers on the road, including out-of-state, with little additional charging time (assuming you use one of the fastest charging EVs) – and the EV is more efficient than the hydrogen car to boot.
On today’s exciting episode of Quick Charge, we don’t even mention “you know who,” focusing instead on EV news from Rivian, Lucid, Nissan, Ford, and what it takes to make a MAN in the heavy truck space. Check it out!
Sure, Nissan is pushing back production estimates on its yet-to-begin-production Nissan LEAF and Ford’s EV sales were down significantly in Q2, but there’s more to the story than the “Faux News” crowd would have you believe. Plus: some new electric success stories from Porsche and a disappointing (but still cool) dive into some new home backup battery tech.
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (most weeks, anyway). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.
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he 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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Battery electric cars sold today in Europe produce 73% less life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions than gas cars, even when factoring in production, according to new research from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). That’s a big improvement from 2021, when the gap was 59%.
Meanwhile, hybrids and plug-in hybrids haven’t made much progress. The study confirms what clean transportation advocates have been saying for years: If Europe wants to seriously slash emissions from its dirtiest mode of transport – ICE passenger cars, which pump out nearly 75% of the sector’s pollution – it needs to go all-in on battery EVs.
“Battery electric cars in Europe are getting cleaner faster than we expected and outperform all other technologies, including hybrids and plug-in hybrids,” said ICCT researcher Dr. Marta Negri. Credit the continent’s rapid shift to renewables and the higher energy efficiency of EVs.
The makeup of the EU’s power grid is changing fast. By 2025, renewables are expected to generate 56% of Europe’s electricity, up from 38% in 2020. And that’s just the beginning: the share could hit 86% by 2045. Since cars bought today could still be on the road two decades from now, the growing use of clean electricity will only boost EVs’ climate benefits over time.
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Gas-powered cars, on the other hand, will stay mostly tied to fossil fuels as the cost and availability of biofuels and e-fuels are still uncertain.
Hybrids and plug-in hybrids only cut lifetime emissions by 20% and 30%, respectively, compared to gas cars. That’s partly because plug-in hybrids tend to run on gas more than expected. So while hybrids aren’t useless, they’re just not good enough if we’re serious about climate goals.
Countering EV myths with hard data
There’s been a lot of noise lately about whether EVs are really that green. The ICCT study takes aim at the bad data and misleading claims floating around, like ignoring how the grid gets cleaner over time or using unrealistic gas mileage figures.
It’s true that manufacturing EVs creates more emissions upfront – about 40% more than making a gas car, mostly due to the battery. But EVs make up for it quickly: that extra emissions load is usually wiped out after about 17,000 km (10,563 miles) of driving, which most drivers hit in a year or two.
“We’ve recently seen auto industry leaders misrepresenting the emissions math on hybrids,” said Dr. Georg Bieker, senior researcher at the ICCT. “But life-cycle analysis is not a choose-your-own-adventure exercise.”
ICCT’s new analysis includes emissions from vehicle and battery production and recycling, fuel and electricity production, and fuel consumption and maintenance. It even adjusts for how the electricity mix will change in the coming years – a key detail when measuring plug-in hybrid performance.
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The EV2 may be Kia’s smallest electric vehicle, but it has a big presence on the road. Kia promises it won’t feel so small when you’re inside, thanks to clever storage and flexible seating. After a prototype was spotted testing in the Alps, we are getting our closest look at the Kia EV2 so far.
Kia EV2 spotted in the Alps offers our closest look yet
Kia first unveiled the Concept EV2 during its 2025 EV Day event (see our recap of the event) in April, a preview of its upcoming entry-level electric SUV.
Despite its small size, Kia claims it will “redefine urban electric mobility” with new innovative features and more. Kia has yet to say exactly how big it will be, but given it will sit below the EV3, it’s expected to be around 4,000 mm (157″) in length. The EV3 is 4,300 mm (169.3″) in length.
Looking at it from the side, it sits much higher than you’d expect, similar to Kia’s larger EV9. During an exclusive event at Milan Design Week in April, Kia gave a sneak peek of the interior.
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Kia said the interior is inspired by a “picnic in the city,” or in other words, a retreat from the busy city life. With a flat-floor design and flexible seating, you can quite literally have a picnic in the city.
Kia Concept EV2 (Source: Kia)
Although we’ve seen the EV2 out in public testing a few times, a new video provides the closest look at Kia’s upcoming electric SUV.
The video, courtesy of CarSpyMedia, shows an EV2 prototype testing in the Alps with European license plates. There’s also a “Testfahrt” sticker on the back, which translates to “Test Car” in German.
Kia EV2 entry-level EV caught testing in the Alps (Source: CarSpyMedia)
As the prototype drives by, you can get a good look at it from all angles. Like in past sightings, the front features stacked vertical headlights with Kia’s signature Star Map lighting. Even the rear lights appear to be identical to those of the concept.
The interior will feature Kia’s next-gen ccNC (connected car Navigation Cockpit) infotainment system. The setup includes dual 12.3″ instrument clusters and infotainment screens in a curved panoramic display. Depending on the model, it could also include an added 5.3″ climate control screen.
Last month, a crossover coupe-like model was spotted on a car carrier in Korea, hinting at a new variant. The new model featured a design similar to that of the Genesis GV60.
Kia’s CEO, Ho Sung Song, also recently told Autocar that a smaller, more affordable EV was in the works to sit below the EV2. Song said the new EV, priced under €25,000 ($30,000), was “one area we are studying and developing.”
With the EV4 and EV5 launching this year, followed by the EV2 in 2026, it could be closer toward the end of the decade before we see it hit the market. Next-gen EV6 and EV9 models are also due out around then.
The Kia EV2 is set to launch in Europe and other global regions in 2026. Unfortunately, it’s not expected to make the trip to the US.
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