Honda Delivers Accord Plug-In to City of Torrance

• City of Torrance continues sustainable transportation efforts with the delivery of a 2014 Accord Plug-In
• The EPA-rated115 MPGe Accord Plug-In will join the Fit EV in providing critical feedback to advance city's sustainable transportation needs
• Honda's Plug-In is ideal for municipal use with an electric motor for city driving and a hybrid motor for longer, more fuel efficient travels

August 15, 2013 /3BL Media/ - Honda delivered a 2014 Accord Plug-In vehicle to the city of Torrance yesterday as a continuation of Honda's advanced vehicle testing efforts, a critical component of Honda's measured approach to furthering its advancement of electric-drive vehicles. The Accord Plug-In, which is EPA-rated to operate in electric-only mode for 13 miles before transitioning between gasoline-electric hybrid and gasoline modes, will join the Fit EV in providing Torrance with in-city transportation options that reduce CO₂ and tailpipe emissions.

The delivery was marked by a ceremony at the Torrance City Hall, at which a key to the Accord Plug-In was presented to Torrance Mayor Frank Scotto by Steven Center, vice president of the Environmental Business Development Office at American Honda.

"Honda's continued relationship with the City of Torrance through our advanced vehicle testing has been instrumental in advancing our sustainable transportation solutions," said Center. "Through real-world feedback of the Fit EV and now the Accord Plug-In, the City of Torrance plays an essential role in the refinement and evolution of electric drive vehicles and, ultimately, the expansion of customer adoption for this technology."

Over the past year, Honda and the city of Torrance have worked together to collect real-world input from the city's use of a Fit EV test vehicle. After driving more than 7,500 miles in combined city and highway driving, city employees, using the Fit EV for everyday business, were able to surpass the Fit EV's adjusted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mile-per-gallon-equivalency rating of 132/105/118 MPGe.¹ By driving a Fit EV, Honda estimates the city of Torrance was able to reduce its CO₂ emissions by roughly 74 percent when compared with a gasoline-powered vehicle, such as the Honda Fit.

"The City of Torrance is proud to continue its partnership with Honda where we jointly hold the keys to a compelling solution for reducing CO₂ emissions," said city of Torrance Mayor Frank Scotto. "We have been impressed by the potential of the Fit EV to significantly reduce the city's CO₂ emissions from transportation and contribute to our CO₂ reduction goals. The addition of the Accord Plug-In will help enhance our efforts to reduce CO₂ from the city's operations."

The EPA-rated 115 MPGe² Accord Plug-In is the most fuel efficient sedan in the U.S. and is available at select New York and California Honda dealers. Based on the Touring trim level of the standard Accord Sedan but featuring unique styling cues, the 2014 Honda Accord Plug-In blends the athleticism and craftsmanship of the all-new Accord platform, combined with hybrid efficiency and electric torque. In addition to being Honda's first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, the Accord Plug-In is the first production car in the U.S. to meet the new, more stringent LEV3/SULEV20 emissions standard, and also qualifies for single-occupant carpool-lane access in California.

The plug-in Accord can be fully charged from a low-charge indication point in less than three hours using the supplied 120-volt charger when plugged into a standard 120-volt household electrical outlet (use of a dedicated GFCI outlet is recommended), and in less than one hour using a 240-volt "Level-2" charger³. For more details about the Accord Plug-In Hybrid, please visit www.hondanews.com.

Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program
As part of its advanced vehicle testing efforts, Honda has loaned Fit EV's to the City of Torrance, Stanford University and Google to gain valuable feedback on the performance of the vehicle and to further initiatives such as research into human interaction with electric vehicles. Honda has now added the Accord Plug-In to the program with its loan to the City of Torrance.

Honda Environmental Leadership
In addition to producing the Accord Plug-In, Honda has developed numerous technologies to improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO₂ emissions, including the Honda Fit EV, Civic Natural Gas and the Honda FCX Clarity fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV). Honda has also led the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) rankings of overall vehicle environmental performance since 2000, and numerous Honda vehicles have earned top green scores from the America Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) list of America's greenest vehicles for 16 consecutive years.

Connect with Honda:
Media Newsroom (for journalists): http://www.hondanews.com/
For consumers: http://automobiles.honda.com/accord-plug-in/
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¹132/105/118 city/highway/combined miles per gallon of gasoline-equivalent (MPGe) rating; 82 mile combined (city/highway) driving range rating (adjusted). Ratings determined by U.S. EPA. Your MPGe and range will vary depending on driving conditions, how you drive and maintain your vehicle, lithium-ion battery age/condition, and other factors. For additional information about EPA ratings, visit http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/label/learn-more-electric-label.shtml

²124 city/105 highway/115 combined miles per gallon of gasoline-equivalent (MPGe) electric rating; 47 city/46 highway/46 combined MPG gasoline only rating. 13 mile maximum EV mode driving range rating. 574 mile combined gas-electric driving range rating. Ratings determined by EPA. Use for comparison purposes only. Your MPGe/MPG and driving range will vary depending on driving conditions, how you drive and maintain your vehicle, lithium-ion battery age/condition, and other factors. For additional information about EPA ratings, visit http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/label/learn-more-PHEV-label.shtml

³From low-charge indicator illumination point to full charge.