Is Honda pulling the plug on clarity?

I work in sales for a Honda dealer and I have not heard that they were ending the Clarity. That doesn't mean they aren't. We are usually the last one to hear real news. Honda tends to keep everything secret until they publicly announce it. I have lost count how many times customers have told me things I haven't heard from Honda. Most rumors are just that but there have been times that the rumors were true. If I hear anything solid and 100% accurate I will post it but I doubt I would be the first to know.

 

A rumor is always a rumor until it is confirmed by a reliable source. The problem is the definition of "reliable", as it's not black and white. Some sources can be dismissed out of hand, but occasionally they turn out to be right. Others have great credibility based on their history, but occasionally they are completely wrong.

Sometimes it's appropriate to take action based on a rumor. Often the very existence of the rumor can affect the environment; I am sure there are folks who heard that Honda is dropping the Clarity and based on this they picked a different car.

Figuring out who to believe is not a new issue, but it has gotten much harder now that we are bombarded with so much more information. Disinformation, fake news, deep fakes, social media in general . . . the general public is simply not able to cope with this deluge of information trying to influence them to buy this, support that, take this action. In most cases they hear what they want to hear and do what they were inclined to do with little regard to facts because it's so hard to figure out what the actual facts are.

 

The good thing is even if Honda announces they will discontinue the Clarity those of us that love the Clarity will still have plenty of opportunities to pick up a newer model before they are gone.

Another possibility is Honda may someday fold the Clarity powertrain as an option into more vehicles negating the need for a separate Clarity model.

 

^^ yes, this is so true.
I love mine, that if Honda decides to pull the Clarity out, I will pick up another one just because how much I have enjoyed this car.

As for other Honda models offering alternative powertrains, I keep hearing of Fit EV and Pilot PHEV so I don't think electrified cars are going away anytime soon.

 

EV's are not going away, but eventually the Clarity most certainly will. It's design contains many compromises to allow multiple drive train configurations, and that is a short-term or interim solution for Honda.
The Clarity will likely last (with little or no changes) for at least a few more years. PHEV owners constantly ask for more EV range. The more range they have, the less they use the ICE. The less they use the ICE, the harder it gets to justify the added expense, inefficiency and maintenance costs incurred. Honda invested a fair amount of R&D into the Clarity PHEV drive train, and they will likely milk it for all it is worth. We could see it in another vehicle (Pilot or ??), but bigger/heavier vehicles will create more challenges. Whether they are able to use some of the measures (aluminum body parts, etc) to shave weight and have it make sense from a cost standpoint? Time will tell.

 

Yesterday was a perfect example of why I love the Clarity. Most days 50 mile range is fine but yesterday I needed to go about 250 miles with no opportunity to charge and the last 50 was somewhat unplanned. I did excellent mpg, was totally comfortable, started with a full tank & charge, no range concerns, no need to stop to charge or refuel, still have half tank of gas, and this morning I start off the day with a full charge. Love it.

 

I have a trip that requires going to CA next month. The PHEV would almost certainly require me to use gas, where I can make it with the BEV with no worries. If one were lucky enough for one of the L1's to be open at the airport, the PHEV could make it on EV only.

It is a fairly frequent occurrence that our daily driving would use gas in the PHEV, where the BEV has ample range.

 

Yes, I had done trips in Clarity that I wouldn't attempt in a long range BEV. It is theoretically possible to do it, but it is not convenient just yet.

I don't see Honda cancelling Clarity. They don't have any replacements in foreseeable future. Their next EV model (Honda e) is not designed for US market, even if they sell it here it will have limited market in big cities like NY and SF. Clarity is much better suited for the rest of the country.

 

BEV is still a long ways away from being a replacement for PHEV. Obviously if you always drive short distances its less of an issue. I considered a used Model S before the clarity but the charging network isn't there yet even with superchargers...and don't forget about the long term effects on batteries of always using superchargers. Some supercharger locations in CA have been planned or in progress for a long time. I would be pretty bummed if Honda decides to cease production of the Clarity as its been a great car, but I guess all we can do is wait and see where technology brings us.