Wassup with Sales?

  • Thread starter Thread starter MrFixit
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 152
  • Views Views 22K
OK, time for an update on sales. This includes sales through September 2019.
Our Clarities continue to wane (only 400 sold in September) :(

upload_2019-10-8_19-19-4.webp


upload_2019-10-8_19-19-27.webp

 
Very sad to see the Clarity sales tank, at least in the USA. Are they still selling well in other countries?

Very disappointing to see Honda's lack of support for what appears to be the best PHEV on the market.
:(
 
jdonalds said:
I agree. But if I had two cars I'd want one to be a BEV with perhaps 80-100 miles of range and I'd like to pay in the high $20K range. The other would be a PHEV with 50 miles of EV range and 300 miles of HV range. The PHEV could be in the mid $30K price range and have lots of features. The BEV could have less features to keep the cost down.
Click to expand...
^^^
Agree - this is the ideal setup since fuel prices in CA have jumped to almost double @ $5.50/gallon!

Just filled up the wife's BMW with 91 octane and costed over $80 to fill !

jKYGDb.jpg

It's no wonder why Honda decided to stock the Clarity in CA!
They knew there would be the biggest market for their cars (PHEV, EV, FCV) a petrol prices are so astronomically high!
 
Pushmi-Pullyu said:
Very sad to see the Clarity sales tank, at least in the USA. Are they still selling well in other countries?

Very disappointing to see Honda's lack of support for what appears to be the best PHEV on the market.
:(
Click to expand...
I believe Japan is its only market outside of the US and Canada.
 
Alex on Autos had a post where he said he was getting a first look at some Toyota cars, including the RAV4 PHEV. I wonder if that will be nationwide, and if it will change the landscape (and/or effect Honda's strategy). As a technical matter, I prefer Honda's transmission approach to Toyota's...
 
4sallypat said:
^^^
Agree - this is the ideal setup since fuel prices in CA have jumped to almost double @ $5.50/gallon!

Just filled up the wife's BMW with 91 octane and costed over $80 to fill !

jKYGDb.jpg

It's no wonder why Honda decided to stock the Clarity in CA!
They knew there would be the biggest market for their cars (PHEV, EV, FCV) a petrol prices are so astronomically high!
Click to expand...

Good grief! That is above any price listed on Gas Buddy in that area by up to a dollar per gallon. The app is free.
 
Local taxes make a huge difference in the price of fuel.
Orange County - I just passed a lot of places today at $4.50 but then as soon as you get to LA County - especially Signal Hill, Culver City, and El Segundo where the taxes are the highest, you can find over $5/gal.
Unfortunately, my car requires 91 octane (super)....
 
There is only one factory in Japan that makes the PHEV and I heard it was being shut down for something until Dec. If it is already closed that explains the sales. I know Canada had it's final distribution of 2019s like two months ago. Sold out nation wide.
 
4sallypat said:
Local taxes make a huge difference in the price of fuel.
Orange County - I just passed a lot of places today at $4.50 but then as soon as you get to LA County - especially Signal Hill, Culver City, and El Segundo where the taxes are the highest, you can find over $5/gal.
Unfortunately, my car requires 91 octane (super)....
Click to expand...

The 76 on Centinela and Palms shows $4.43. 76 on Centinela and National shows $4.67. Both are Premium/91 Octane.

I can only try to helping for so long.

Gas Buddy.
 
Apparently this report came out in March but an electrek article pointed to it in my news feed. I think this says a lot about why Honda pulled back the Clarity: They are at the top of the list for fleet efficiency and therefore don't need EVs and PHEVs to balance out models with terrible gas mileage. More driven by regulations than by consumer demand.
https://www.epa.gov/automotive-trends/highlights-automotive-trends-report
Focus of the electrek article was on Toyota:
https://electrek.co/2019/10/31/toyotas-greenwashing-conceals-worsening-fleet-mpg/
 
Makes some sense. With fewer Priuses and more Tundras and Sequoias going out the door, it's hard to keep the CAFE down.

Honda sort of maxes out with the Pilot and Odyssey.
 
Steven B said:
Apparently this report came out in March but an electrek article pointed to it in my news feed. I think this says a lot about why Honda pulled back the Clarity: They are at the top of the list for fleet efficiency and therefore don't need EVs and PHEVs to balance out models with terrible gas mileage. More driven by regulations than by consumer demand.
https://www.epa.gov/automotive-trends/highlights-automotive-trends-report
Focus of the electrek article was on Toyota:
https://electrek.co/2019/10/31/toyotas-greenwashing-conceals-worsening-fleet-mpg/
Click to expand...

Ah, that's most likely why Honda's not worried about selling the Clarity and possibly even wish to discontinue it...

Because there's no way Prius Prime is out selling the Clarity based purely on merit. These sales figures just isn't driven by market.
 
4sallypat said:
Local taxes make a huge difference in the price of fuel.
Orange County - I just passed a lot of places today at $4.50 but then as soon as you get to LA County - especially Signal Hill, Culver City, and El Segundo where the taxes are the highest, you can find over $5/gal.
Unfortunately, my car requires 91 octane (super)....
Click to expand...
Sorry pal. These are the times I don't miss my old Mazda CX-7 Turbo also requiring 91...
 
At this point, at least based on sales, you have to wonder why Honda even bothers. It wouldn't surprise me if they ceased production, but let's hope they don't.
 
KentuckyKen said:
While most of us on the forum would tend to agree, do you have a source to share or is that just speculation?
Click to expand...

I called Lombardi honda in Montreal and a rep there told me this when I asked. To be honest it makes a lot of sense. The clarity is kind of like a test bed for future hybrid systems and code (I'm an engineer and this is common practice especially in automotive settings). Also I believe the clarity also helps Honda meet fleet MPG requirements quite a bit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top