I just noticed how many views some of these threads had. It got me to wondering how many Clarity's PHEV's have been sold in the US/North America. Any but have a source for that data?
Interesting to see all the numbers. I'm wondering if part of the reason why Honda isn't advertising the Clarity is because it is already being sold at such a low price there really isn't an advertising budget for it. The numbers on the Tesla Model 3 are scary though. In the month of September Tesla sold more model 3s than Toyota's sold Prius Primes. With the Prius Prime being the 2nd most sold EV car...
I don't believe Honda reports the sales of each type of Clarity separately. So InsideEVs must be making an educated guess to come up with sales figures for the Clarity PHEV. Honda leases so few of the Clarity Fuel Cell and Clarity Electric vehicles that InsideEVs' numbers probably aren't too far off, but still deserve an asterisk.
Considering the $52K price of the Clarity in it's home market (even though it has some features we don't get, they don't have to ship them across the ocean), Honda's cannot be making a profit on the sales of Clarity PHEVs at the prices they charge in the US and Canada. That lack of profitability, along with limited production capability, could be one reason for the lack of advertising for this great car. Would it be a great car if it sold in the US for $52K? Could aggressive advertising sell more of them if they cost that much?
There is really no way to say. When a car is priced at a higher amount people often equate that there is a higher build quality associated with said car. If Honda suddenly changed the make of the car from Honda to Acura, added a few features, lumbar support and volume nob on stereo (the two biggest complaints I see on the car) would it attract more buyers and generate more sales? Would people see if being worth $50k? ($40k after rebates in some states) Maybe. Maybe at some point they will make an Acura version and they are just testing the waters with the Honda brand rather than risking the Acura brand.
I think I disagree with the assumption that just because a vehicle sells for higher dollar figure in another country, there is a financial loss on sales here. Perhaps all vehicle prices are higher in Japan and there is a generally higher cost of living? Comparing profit (or loss) on a vehicle between countries would require far more analysis than just converting yen to dollars, it seems to me. Honda could very well be making a profit in both countries, even at different prices?
I really can't back up my assumption, but that big battery isn't cheap and the construction of the Clarity involves more exotic metals than any other car Honda makes, with the exception of the NSX. Plus, it's a low-volume car, so there are no significant economies of scale. I'm just glad Honda didn't restrict sales only to the ZEV states. Perhaps the Clarity's compliance value in the ZEV states provided the incentive to price the car so aggressively, at the expense of profitability. My all-aluminum 2006 Insight sold for about $22K, but reportedly cost more than $50K to build. There was only one TV ad for that car in the 7 years it was produced. The Clarity story seemed to me like a pattern repeated.
When we are talking about price between US vs Japan we are not talking about a small difference. Costs on the civic for example, adjusting for Yen to Dollar, seem to be plus or minus $2,000. About 10% the cost of MSRP depending on the trim. The cost between the Base Clarity in Japan vs US is $34k vs $52k. About a 50% difference in cost. Now we are not privileged to all the details and numbers at Honda but something about the numbers just don't add up. Except for the PHEV Clarity in North America (which I will admit is the main volume right now) all other Clarity models (Fuel Cell, Full Electric and PHEV in Japan) seemed to be priced around $52k as well. (I know there are only lease options for the Fuel Cell and the Electric but if you try to do a rough estimate to figure out what true MSRP is, it is around $52k still) Final Side note: Assuming the Full Electric Clarity's lease does equate to $52k MSRP as the numbers suggest, I have a hard time understanding how a PHEV with a 17.1 KWH battery and ICE range extender is priced at $34k while the full electric that doesn't have an ICE range extender and a 25 kwh battery is priced at $52k unless the PHEV is priced as a cost leader and/or the Full Electric is price with a very high premium. Honda may simply be using the Plug In Clarity as a cost leader to earn market share similar to Samsung and the introduction of the Galaxy phones 10 years ago. If this is the case, we all benefit from a great car at a great price. Something I believe all of us here agree on.
