Honda, Ford green cars to be available in more of U.S.
Honda and Ford are expanding the reach of their green car offerings to U.S. consumers.
Honda’s 2013 Honda Fit EV, the electric vehicle first launched in California and Oregon in July 2012, will be added to select East Coast dealerships in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, New York and New Jersey.
Customers will be able to lease the Fit EV, which has an EPA estimated range of 82 miles, for three years at a cost of $389 per month.
“Expanding the availability of the ultra-efficient Fit EV to the East Coast is the next logical step in Honda’s strategic and customer-focused approach to growing the market for low-CO2, sustainable mobility technologies,†said Steve Center, vice president of the American Honda Environmental Business Development Office.
Meanwhile, the Ford Motor Co. is accelerating dealership certification for the sale of its plug-in electrified vehicles to 900 dealers across the U.S.
That’s sharply up from just 200 dealerships in November. The 900 dealers represent about one-third of all Ford dealers in the U.S.
A Ford spokesperson said that 65 of the first 200 dealerships were in California, adding that 95 California dealerships will be added in the expansion.
Ford says it expects to have EV-certified Ford dealers in all 50 states by spring.
Certification allows dealers to sell Focus Electric, C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid and Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid. Certification isn’t necessary for a Ford dealer to sell C-MAX Hybrid and Fusion Hybrid. Ford announced the certified dealer program in February 2011.
“Research indicates that 60% of new vehicle shoppers are considering hybrid products. With this demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles, early sales of Ford’s five electrified vehicles has been phenomenal, creating a tremendous amount of excitement among our dealers,†said C.J. O’Donnell, Ford Electrified Vehicle Marketing manager.
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