the Pike Pulse grid. Click to enlarge.

Senior analyst Lisa Jerram said that Daimler attained the highest overall score in the Pike Pulse report, since it has laid out a clear path to producing a commercially viable FCV. Other contributing factors include its strong relationships with infrastructure and government partners and its recent announcement to partner with Linde on infrastructure development. However, Daimler has made ambitious announcements on fuel cell technology readiness in the past, and these did not come to fruition. The company recently moved up its target date to 2014 from 2015. If its proclaimed dates begin to slip, Daimler’s position could quickly change.

Honda is the runner-up in Pike Research’s analysis, based on the high-quality execution of its FCV, the Clarity, its efforts to lay the groundwork for a commercial launch, and its continued public commitment to FCV commercialization. Yet, the company must be careful in regards to the slow rollout of its Clarity fleet; if the rollout does not ramp up in 2011, Honda’s outlook could wane, according to the Pike scorecard.

The “Pike Pulse Report: Light-Duty Fuel Cell Vehicles” evaluates 10 auto OEMs working on fuel cell vehicles and rates them on 12 criteria for strategy and execution, including go-to-market strategy, product portfolio, partnerships, innovation, reach, market share, pricing, and staying power. the OEMs are profiled, rated, and ranked with the goal of providing an objective assessment of these companies’ relative strengths and weaknesses in the market.