The American arm of the Japanese automotive giant Honda confirmed today it has delivered the world's most advanced hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, in the shape of the Honda FCX, to the US city of Chula Vista.

Chula Vista will lease the clean fuel, zero-emission vehicle for a period of two years during which time the FCX will be used on a regular basis as part of the city's normal operations.

The car will use an existing publicly accessible hydrogen station run by the city to refuel, in a demonstration of the future potential of the new automotive industry.

Gunnar Lindstrom, senior manager of Alternative Fuel Vehicles at American Honda, said: "The foresight and diligence shown by the city of Chula Vista concerning fuel cell development is commendable and Honda is pleased to have them as our next customer for the fuel cell powered FCX."

Honda's FCX is currently the world's first and only fuel cell car to receive certification from both the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB).

It is also one of the few fuel cell vehicles in regular daily operation with multiple customers in the US and Japan.