Last June, Google announced that it begun including next-gen plug-in vehicles in its car-sharing program for Googlers, which it calls “GFleet”.
Today, Honda announced that its 2013 Fit EV has been delivered via a demo program to Google, (as well as to Stanford University), and it will be used in GFleet.
Here’s the part of Honda’s announcement that pertains to Google:
The delivery of the Fit EV to Google Inc. was marked by an employee ride and drive. Nearly 100 ‘Googlers’ took the Fit EV for a spin around the Google Mountain View, Calif., campus. Google will now use the Fit EV as a part of its G-Fleet, an employee car-sharing service that features numerous plug-in vehicles. Google’s participation in the Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program will involve analysis of vehicle usage including CO2 reduction, energy consumption on a miles/kWh basis and overall energy cost.
“The goal of the Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program is to better understand the challenges and opportunities associated with the advancement in battery-electric technology,” said Steve Center, VP of the Environmental Business Development Office at American Honda. “Honda has a long history with electric vehicles beginning with the introduction of our first battery-electric car, the EV Plus, nearly 15 years ago. Honda’s experience and the unique feedback that Google, Stanford University and the city of Torrance will provide will be valuable to the future introduction of battery-electric technology.”
Here’s a broader look at GFleet itself:
Google, along with Stanford and the city of Torrance, California are conducting general testing on the Fit EV, to give feedback to Honda for the future introduction of electric vehicles.
I wonder if anyone will tell them that, like some electric cars before it, it kind of looks like a new-age mini van.