Any rumors about 2020 Clarity? Chance of a refresh?

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The most obvious change?
Paint colors.

We may see standardization on how Canadian and US versions are equipped. Canadian models may lose features not currently on the US model, US spec gain some, or a bit of both.
 
insightman said:
The big question is: Why would Honda make improvements to a car they're not seriously trying to sell?
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These are compliance cars designed for ZEV states so they don't market them, but they do need to sell at least some to help with their carb credits in those states, so there is an incentive to at least make some improvements. Prius Prime is in a similar situation, everyone complains that Toyota seems to make no attempt to market it, but they do make changes, the 2020 Prius Prime is supposed to now have five seats, the first two years had only four seats which was a deal breaker for many especially people with small children who need that extra rear seat. Same exact route the Volt went, started with four seats then went to five. That's not a trivial change as they have to redesign the underseat support area, and it also adds weight which was the original reason for four seats.

insightman said:
my guess is the addition of a cross-traffic alert
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I think that would be part of getting the current Honda infotainment system, which they might do to standardize, especially following the theory that they were literally using up surplus parts. So I think it's either all or nothing, I don't think they would just add cross-traffic alert.
 
craze1cars said:
Heck based on recent dive in sales figures for Clarity reported here, I’ll be surprised if 2020 Clarity is offered at all. Not even a single 2019 has been offered for sale in my state of Indiana yet. And I don’t think a single one ever will be. As far as my state is concerned, I’m pretty sure the Clarity is already in the history books and gone forever...
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Plug-in cars are mainly shipped to ZEV states, other states get the breadcrumbs. I went onto Cars.com today and searched a 50-mile radius for a few randomly selected cities. No coincidence that the cities with 2019's are in ZEV states, the others states are non-ZEV. Presumably 2019's will start shipping to non-ZEV states at some point.

I don't know if there is a way to display tabbed columns in the forum software (I think it's Xenforo) so I apologize that the numbers below are not lined up in neat vertical columns.

50 mile radius 2019 2018
Los Angeles 192 11
New York 109 0
San Francisco 64 16
Boston 19 18
Chicago 0 30
Charlotte 0 7
Seattle 0 5
Houston 0 4
Denver 0 3
Indianapolis 0 2
 
I hope they continue to assemble the Clarity in Japan with the extensive use of Aluminum as there was a press release that I read somewhere that Honda was looking to assemble all of their electric and hybrid cars in the USA in the near future. If assembled in the USA, I hope the construction with Aluminum remains.

In the same article, it was mentioned Honda is phasing out the lane watch camera which means we will get blind spot monitoring and the sexy lights that blink in the mirrors lol. Also, no brainer for using the Accords infotainment system with volume / tuning knobs. Who knows, we may even get an option for HUD like they have on either the fuel cell or electric version in Japan.

My only other recommendation for Honda and I hope they are reviewing this forum would be to use that space in the trunk that holds the charger and fill that space with more battery. These cars may be able to have between a 20 to 25kw battery capacity and travel an EPA 70+ electric miles and still be a fantastic hybrid. Just my 2cents.
 
Nemesis said:
I read somewhere that Honda was looking to assemble all of their electric and hybrid cars in the USA in the near future.
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Looking at Toyota for an example, they make the Camry hybrid and Avalon hybrid in the U.S. since they share the same platform as the non-hybrid versions. However they continue to make the Prius in Japan due to the lower volume. I would be surprised if Honda started assembling such low volume specialized cars such as Clarity in the U.S.
 
Apologies, I may have received incorrect info from dealer in eastern Canada, I will confirm when I can. The info should be coming soon.
 
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Update: A Honda Canada bulletin has indicated that ordering for 2020 models will open sometime in August and delivery in early 2020. Though I heard a rumour that they are trying to get them out before the end of the year.

Hopefully the Clarity gets the Insight's steering wheel and infotainment, and some other upgrades. But probably just the Civic's infotainment if anything, lol.
 
Nemesis said:
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In the same article, it was mentioned Honda is phasing out the lane watch camera which means we will get blind spot monitoring and the sexy lights that blink in the mirrors lol. ...
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I, for one, find the lane watch camera quite useful -- the position of a car relative to the third stripe lets me estimate how far away it is and for me improves my lane changing. Do the sexy lights give that kind of detail?
 
My wife's Bolt has the 'Sexy Lights' (I really don't think that is a name we should give much traction to). I like them because it is a binary decision, is it safe to change lanes or is it not. My Clarity's camera requires more than just a glance, not that much more effort but I do notice a difference. The camera requires you to watch long enough to see if a trailing car is approaching and how quickly. The Bolt's system turns on the light sooner if a car is on your right and gaining quickly on you. The camera shows you folks on bikes very clearly but so does the Bolt(without telling you what is in your way). The biggest advantage of her Bolt is that the system looks on both sides of the car, my camera is only on the right. The Clarity's blind spot is not large but one of those silly little Smart cars have done a good job of hiding from me.
 
BeMurda said:
Update: A Honda Canada bulletin has indicated that ordering for 2020 models will open sometime in August and delivery in early 2020. Though I heard a rumour that they are trying to get them out before the end of the year.

Hopefully the Clarity gets the Insight's steering wheel and infotainment, and some other upgrades. But probably just the Civic's infotainment if anything, lol.
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Quick question: If I put a deposit at the end of May (23), does this mean that I’m gonna get a 2020 model at the end of the year?
 
Chuck said:
My wife's Bolt has the 'Sexy Lights' (I really don't think that is a name we should give much traction to). I like them because it is a binary decision, is it safe to change lanes or is it not. My Clarity's camera requires more than just a glance, not that much more effort but I do notice a difference. The camera requires you to watch long enough to see if a trailing car is approaching and how quickly. The Bolt's system turns on the light sooner if a car is on your right and gaining quickly on you. The camera shows you folks on bikes very clearly but so does the Bolt(without telling you what is in your way). The biggest advantage of her Bolt is that the system looks on both sides of the car, my camera is only on the right. The Clarity's blind spot is not large but one of those silly little Smart cars have done a good job of hiding from me.
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Thanks! But I think I still would be watching on my right side if I were changing lanes...
 
2002 said:
Looking at Toyota for an example, they make the Camry hybrid and Avalon hybrid in the U.S. since they share the same platform as the non-hybrid versions. However they continue to make the Prius in Japan due to the lower volume. I would be surprised if Honda started assembling such low volume specialized cars such as Clarity in the U.S.
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Wouldn't the cost be lower to us in the US due to non taxed importation costs added onto anything coming in from another country ??

I think that is why the Clarity made in Japan is higher in price than last year due to the new import taxes by the US.
 
4sallypat said:
Wouldn't the cost be lower to us in the US due to non taxed importation costs added onto anything coming in from another country ??

I think that is why the Clarity made in Japan is higher in price than last year due to the new import taxes by the US.
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The startup expense to begin manufacturing a car is huge. Unless you have a high enough volume to spread that expense over, the cost per vehicle would dwarf any tariff or transportation cost. Of course it's kind of a self fulfilling prophecy; if you execute for low volume you're probably going to have low volume.
 
Olive said:
Quick question: If I put a deposit at the end of May (23), does this mean that I’m gonna get a 2020 model at the end of the year?
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Seems to me this depends entirely on whether you have placed an order for a 2019 or a 2020 model...so the dealer who took the deposit is really the only person who can answer this question.
 
Evfred said:
Am I the only one that feels the 2020 will be unchanged?
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You are correct, the Clarity will probably not get a facelift or new refresh anytime soon as the costs for it would be prohibitive.
Remember, the Clarity is a low volume, made in Japan, and 2 model years.

Only high volume cars after 3-4 years usually get a refresh. Case in point: BMW & Audi will do a "Life Cycle Impulse" (LCI).

Other car companies like Toyota take forever to do a model refresh or facelift - 6-10 years...
 
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