2018 sales for Clarity.....

[visajet]

853 sold.... (think this includes PHEV and the BEV).
713 Volts sold....
1496 Prius Prime sold...

https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/

 

[Kendalf]

When they record "sales" does this include leases?

 

[Viking79]

Yes, leases and sales. I am curious how Clarity does, given price and features I think it will rise up. Personally, I think it is a much better value than either Volt or Prius, they probably need to advertise it now.

I think a vast majority of those Claritys sold were PHEV this month, I don't think there are many BEV models for sale right now? Looks like cars.com shows a 2.5 month supply or so, maybe be able to get some better deals on them now?

 

[jdonalds]

I'm not surprised about the Bolt hitting 1,177 in January. It is a pretty decent car.

What does surprise me is the 1,496 Prius Prime. Other people obviously feel different about the styling. My wife and I didn't give the Prime a second look after 10 minutes looking at the car. So I think the Prime is being supported by Toyota reputation, a lower price, and those that like the radical look.

I'd hoped the Clarity would pop up this month and show up with over 1,000 sales. Still being 4th from the top of the list isn't bad.

 

[dstrauss]

I'm not surprised about the Bolt hitting 1,177 in January. It is a pretty decent car.

What does surprise me is the 1,496 Prius Prime. Other people obviously feel different about the styling. My wife and I didn't give the Prime a second look after 10 minutes looking at the car. So I think the Prime is being supported by Toyota reputation, a lower price, and those that like the radical look.

I'd hoped the Clarity would pop up this month and show up with over 1,000 sales. Still being 4th from the top of the list isn't bad.

Being 4th with no brand history (like Prius) and only two months of sales is pretty good. I have yet to see one in the flesh, but the pictures alone were off-putting. Worse yet, I have already learned that 25 mile EV range would have drove me nuts - I already get antsy when the Clarity gauge drops into the teens, imagine the anxiety of nearly staring in the teens!

 

[ab13]

To me the Prius Prime is better looking than the regular model, but rear space is small.

 

[loomis2]

I think the Prius Primes look cool. The regular new Prius design looks terrible, but they tweaked it in all the right places with the Prime in my eyes. I don't know how they sold so many since you can't even find one anywhere. The Toyota dealer near me didn't think he would ever see one in his lot. However, the lack of a fifth seat, no Android Auto, lower ev range along with that weird battery shelf in the trunk really turned me off of the car. I almost made the decision to fly out to the East Coast and buy one when I thought the tax credit was going to go away. Then, like a angel descending from heaven, I checked out Honda's website and saw the Clarity staring at me from a huge photo on the front page and my prayers were answered. It checked every box I needed checked and the rest is history. But I was *that* close to being a Prime owner.

 

[PHEV Newbie]

If you're driving mostly EV, you're not giving up much in energy efficiency compared to Volt or Prius Prime but Clarity is a much bigger car. In an accident, it'll do far better than those two compacts. Clarity is about the same size as the current Toyota Avalon (actually two inches wider), a full size car. With the popularity of pick up trucks and SUVs, I feel a lot safer in my Clarity than I would in either of those cars.

 

[WadeTyhon]

I think the Prius Primes look cool. The regular new Prius design looks terrible, but they tweaked it in all the right places with the Prime in my eyes. I don't know how they sold so many since you can't even find one anywhere. The Toyota dealer near me didn't think he would ever see one in his lot. However, the lack of a fifth seat, no Android Auto, lower ev range along with that weird battery shelf in the trunk really turned me off of the car. I almost made the decision to fly out to the East Coast and buy one when I thought the tax credit was going to go away. Then, like a angel descending from heaven, I checked out Honda's website and saw the Clarity staring at me from a huge photo on the front page and my prayers were answered. It checked every box I needed checked and the rest is history. But I was *that* close to being a Prime owner.

You made the right choice. Judging from everything I've seen, the Clarity is a much better looking car and a much better plug-in. It's the only plug-in hybrid that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the Volt!

Visually, the prime is a vast improvement over the 2018 Prius. At least from the front and from the sides.

Unfortunately from the rear, the Prime is about as ugly as the standard 2018 Prius. Just ugly in a different way!

 

[dstrauss]

I think the Prius Primes look cool. The regular new Prius design looks terrible, but they tweaked it in all the right places with the Prime in my eyes. I don't know how they sold so many since you can't even find one anywhere. The Toyota dealer near me didn't think he would ever see one in his lot. However, the lack of a fifth seat, no Android Auto, lower ev range along with that weird battery shelf in the trunk really turned me off of the car. I almost made the decision to fly out to the East Coast and buy one when I thought the tax credit was going to go away. Then, like a angel descending from heaven, I checked out Honda's website and saw the Clarity staring at me from a huge photo on the front page and my prayers were answered. It checked every box I needed checked and the rest is history. But I was *that* close to being a Prime owner.

I feel like I just wrote this - verbatim...even down to several calls/texts with a NY dealership.

 

[loomis2]

I feel like I just wrote this - verbatim...even down to several calls/texts with a NY dealership.

Mine was a Maryland dealer. I had even looked at flights. That's how close I was to pulling the trigger. Then I saw the Clarity a few minutes later, like it was meant to be.

 

[jdonalds]

What happened to the numbers? Yesterday the Clarity PHEV was showing something like 800+ in 4th place sold in January. Today the same chart dropped it to 8th place with something like 400+. What's the deal?

 

[dstrauss]

What happened to the numbers? Yesterday the Clarity PHEV was showing something like 800+ in 4th place sold in January. Today the same chart dropped it to 8th place with something like 400+. What's the deal?

They split in two - 8th at 594 (PHEV) and 12th at 262 (BEV).

 

[jdonalds]

Thank you. But isn't it a surprise that 262 BEV Clarity cars have been leased. With such a low EV range I just didn't expect it to sell well.

 

[Kendalf]

Thank you. But isn't it a surprise that 262 BEV Clarity cars have been leased. With such a low EV range I just didn't expect it to sell well.

It was the incredible $199/month lease that caused quite a number of deal seekers to jump on the BEV. With the CA and utility company rebates, and subtracting the cost of what I would have paid in gasoline, the car would have cost me nothing over the course of the lease, and if gasoline prices went up, I'd actually be saving money driving the BEV.

I spent two weeks trying to score a BEV and just missed out on a few that a dealer had on the lot, but wasn't willing to hold for me while I made the 1 hour drive to the dealership. In the end, I'm glad I went with the PHEV as it better suits the needs of my family, whereas the BEV would have been mostly a commuter and local errand vehicle.

 

[jdonalds]

It was the incredible $199/month lease that caused quite a number of deal seekers to jump on the BEV. With the CA and utility company rebates, and subtracting the cost of what I would have paid in gasoline, the car would have cost me nothing over the course of the lease, and if gasoline prices went up, I'd actually be saving money driving the BEV.

I spent two weeks trying to score a BEV and just missed out on a few that a dealer had on the lot, but wasn't willing to hold for me while I made the 1 hour drive to the dealership. In the end, I'm glad I went with the PHEV as it better suits the needs of my family, whereas the BEV would have been mostly a commuter and local errand vehicle.

Thanks. It helps to know people's reasoning.

 

[ab13]

Thanks. It helps to know people's reasoning.

Honda offers 20k miles for the lease (very high for a lease), and unlimited miles for the Fit EV lease. So people who can commute with these can have very low monthly costs even including the charging. You'd need to have about a 30 mile one way if you charge at home. You'd spend less than what other people spend on just gas per month, trucks and big suvs.

 

[dstrauss]

$199/month for a commuter car, with no use of gasoline, and 20,000 miles per year, is unbelievable. It basically is a "free" car plus price of electricity.

 

[Valente]

When I was looking for a PHEV, I seriously considered the Prius Prime. However, I drove one about 4 times and each time I hesitated. It was cramped, noisy, hard to get in and out of (I'm 75) and not much storage space in the back. Then I turned to the Chevy Bolt and Volt. The Bolt would have given me range anxiety as I drive to LA often for work. The stylish Volt was cramped and hard for me to get in and out of. The silliest thing was that the Volt did not have a built in homelink/garage door opener or real adaptive cruise control. WHAT? For that amount of money NO WAY! I'm glad I waited. The Clarity finally arrived. WOW! When I drove the Honda Clarity I was instantly smitten. After 2 drives I was convinced.

 

[bfd]

$199/month for a commuter car, with no use of gasoline, and 20,000 miles per year, is unbelievable. It basically is a "free" car plus price of electricity.

Yes, this was a very seductive promotion - and I almost fell for it. Had the PHEV been held up at all or unavailable around here, I could've easily done that deal. I'd already test driven the BEV at several Honda events over the past few months, so I knew its capabilities, pros and cons. My only real concern was its limited range. We have a BEV that packs 260+ miles of range if that's what we need. So we wanted a second car that wasn't necessarily tied to an electrical grid - but could still take advantage of electric power.