2019 Clarity Plug In Release Date?

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Rav

Rav

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Does anyone have any details? I've reached out to most if not all Bay Area Honda dealerships and they don't know when they will be in. 2019 models for their others cars have been out for months yet no info on the Clarity. A Google search only reveals 2019 but for Canada. My fear is I get a 2018 model and then the next day, 2019 shows up.
 
Rav said:
Does anyone have any details? I've reached out to most if not all Bay Area Honda dealerships and they don't know when they will be in. 2019 models for their others cars have been out for months yet no info on the Clarity. A Google search only reveals 2019 but for Canada. My fear is I get a 2018 model and then the next day, 2019 shows up.
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I believe Honda announced the December 1, 2018 release date for the 2018 model in mid-November. So expect a 2-week lead time. I wonder what will happen to 2018 Clarity PHEV prices after the 2019 model's release date is announced? With the kinds of discounts I read about in the Price Paid thread, if there's a price increase on the 2019 model and if, as expected, the changes are minimal, then holding out for the new model might be an expensive proposition without a major benefit.
 
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For some reason, lots of Plug Ins are very slow to release 2019's. I routinely compile data for all BEV's and PHEV's for spec sheets and displays at the Portland Auto Show in January, and this year many are late to the game. Some have submitted testing for EPA docs (required to for the Monroney Label/"window sticker") but still have the 2018's on their websites, but the Clarity is not even on that list. I doubt that the 2019's will be widely available in the next few weeks.

One thing to keep in mind is the $7,500 Tax Credit is definitely available for 2018 purchases (and to the leasing company if you lease). While it is unlikely Congress will eliminate the Credit, Trump has expressed his desire to do so.

Note - You can pull the EPA data here:
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/download.shtml
The "datafile" column gives you a zipped spreadsheet with separate tabs for PHEV's and EV's (and FCV's)
 
You are exactly correct Insightman. The 2018's were sold out in Canada.
BTW, the Canadian model was only available in 2 colours for the base model and 4 colours for the Touring in 2018 as well.
 
insightman said:
I'm sure Honda could have sold boatloads of Clarity PHEV's into Ontario if they had just brought boatloads of Clarity PHEVs into Ontario before the new beer-centric government took away the $14K incentive.
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I wonder if the demise of the US incentive will kill the market. The $7500 tax credit was a factor in my purchase decision; I probably would not have purchased the Clarity without it.
 
MNSteve said:
I wonder if the demise of the US incentive will kill the market. The $7500 tax credit was a factor in my purchase decision; I probably would not have purchased the Clarity without it.
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There is (AFAIK) no other PHEV option with good EV range that isn't cramped. The electricity to charge it is free. Any increased cost up front is saved eventually by not having to buy gas unless I'm traveling, and even then it gets more than twice the MPG as my CR-V. The tax credit definitely made it a better deal, but it already made sense even without the credit.
 
MNSteve said:
I wonder if the demise of the US incentive will kill the market. The $7500 tax credit was a factor in my purchase decision; I probably would not have purchased the Clarity without it.
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Honda is not even close to the sunset trigger of the Tax Credit. Although Trump wants it gone, Congress would have to modify the Tax Code to eliminate it. There is just as much movement to extend it as there is to eliminate it.
Want to express your support of the Tax Credit?
https://www.evdrivecoalition.com/get-involved/
 
petteyg359 said:
There is (AFAIK) no other PHEV option with good EV range that isn't cramped. The electricity to charge it is free. Any increased cost up front is saved eventually by not having to buy gas unless I'm traveling, and even then it gets more than twice the MPG as my CR-V. The tax credit definitely made it a better deal, but it already made sense even without the credit.
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Those are the rare exceptions rather than the norms. I believe more than 95% of us pay for the electricity that moves our cars. Without tax credit I bet sales of Clarity would be maybe 20% of what it has been. I know beyond a doubt I wouldn’t own one today if not for the $7500 credit. And the math of ownership wouldn’t make sense for me when compared to something comparable like an Accord or Camry gas burner. Especially at today’s gas prices.

And since politics came up, I’m fully opposed to govt subsidies on individual car purchases. But since they’re written into the law by those I disagree with, and I qualify to benefit from the law I oppose, heck yeah I’m taking advantage of it and putting $7500 into my pocket before it is discontinued...
 
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craze1cars said:
Those are the rare exceptions rather than the norms. I believe more than 95% of us pay for the electricity that moves our cars.
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But if a person DOES live in Texas, owns any kind of PHEV, and isn't on a free nights plan for PHEV charging among other things that can be done after 8 PM, I'm pretty sure money is not a concern for that person in any case.

Texas is also not the only competitive energy market. See https://www.electricchoice.com/map-deregulated-energy-markets/. Several other states, both deregulated and not, have time-of-use pricing.

If you can claim a more efficient A/C or furnace will pay for itself over time, you can claim that for a [PH]EV.

Just because it's an exception doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I'm not arguing that sales wouldn't decrease, but I am saying there is a market regardless. There'd probably also be a much larger market if they actually advertised them. While I was searching specs on various hybrids before I bought the Clarity, between Google and Facebook trackers and crap, I was seeing ads for Volt, Bolt, Prius, Kia Niro, some Hyundai hybrids, etc. Never once was there an ad for a Clarity.
 
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