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I have read that Honda has discontinued manufacturing the Clarity. Does anyone have details on how this will impact us Clarity owners??
Honda discontinuing Clarity
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It's certainly not the first time that a low volume car has been discontinued. Just under 40,000 Clarity were sold in the U.S., when you subtract the EV and FCEV versions which were only leased never sold. I'm not sure how that compares to other low volume cars, but certainly it's different than say the Accord which has sold in the millions. As with cars in general the popularity of a car can have an influence on how quickly parts can be obtained, the availability of non-OEM parts, etc, although those effects are usually immediately apparent as they already are with the Clarity where there can at times be a long wait for parts that have to ship from Japan. As for how long Honda will make parts, although car makers are only required to maintain parts for the warranty period, most manufacturers have parts available for around ten years. Salvage parts will be available also, in fact they already are.
One positive is that the Clarity shares the same hybrid system as the Accord Hybrid, the CR-V Hybrid and the Insight. Not sure though what the total number sold is on those cars.
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Current owners are not affected by the discontinuation of the Clarity line as there are parts and support for years to come.
I am worried that Honda has not announced a new PHEV or EV model while other makers are already producing them....
While my '18 Clarity has been perfect and will be keeping her for a long time; I can not get another Honda which is leading me to look at:
Toyota RAV4 Prime (PHEV)
Toyota bZ4X (EV)
Nissan Ariya (EV)
Subaru Solterra (EV)
Chevy Bolt EUV
Ford F150 Lightning EV
GM Silverado EV
Tesla
Rivian
I am worried that Honda has not announced a new PHEV or EV model while other makers are already producing them....
While my '18 Clarity has been perfect and will be keeping her for a long time; I can not get another Honda which is leading me to look at:
Toyota RAV4 Prime (PHEV)
Toyota bZ4X (EV)
Nissan Ariya (EV)
Subaru Solterra (EV)
Chevy Bolt EUV
Ford F150 Lightning EV
GM Silverado EV
Tesla
Rivian
And if you do, enjoy paying MSRP +$10k.
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Yep, supply and demand. I remember when I bought my 2019 Prius Prime I got a $5,000 discount off MSRP and the $4,200 Fed tax credit, making the highest trim Prime cheaper than the non PHEV Prius. Now, any PHEV is $5k over MSRP in Utah (if you can even find one).
True, that. I paid $29k for a 2021 Bolt Premier ($41k MSRP) in April of '21. They were heavily discounted by Chevy, to make room for their refreshed '22 EV lineup. (This was without the $7.5k Fed credit!) My dealer had about a dozen '21s on their lot at that time. A month later, all Bolts through 2022s had a stop-sale put on them for a battery recall. (Initially, it was just for the '17-'19s.) This was after GM bought back my 2017 Bolt Premier for $41k. CA lemon laws are quite good! (GM used each state's lemon laws as the framework for their buybacks.) I drove in with a '17, and drove out with a '21, and $12k in my pocket. We were at the dealer for a total of 70 minutes. (That alone is unbelievable.) Absolute madness, and I do realize that I was extremely lucky. Timing is everything, and being in the fortunate position of having cash on hand to make it seamless, is a rarity. I don't post this to brag, but just to let folks know that vehicle manufacturers and dealers aren't always dishonest a-holes. We were treated very, very well by GM and Simpson Chevrolet in Irvine, CA. GM, and Simpson have earned our business, moving forward. Now, we're just waiting for a new battery pack (and warranty!) for our '21 Bolt, and in the mean time, driving it like we stole it.
I bought my '21 Clarity PHEV Touring in July of '21. Paid MSRP+. I used the $12k from GM for the down payment, and I'll get back $7.5k from the Fed, so it wasn't all bad. We were going to pay cash, but Honda offered us a .9% loan. Took the loan. (Duh!) I can get 2% with my credit union.
2021 was a good "vehicle year" for my household. I feel sorry for folks who are trying to buy any vehicles right now. The market is horribly stacked against the consumer, with prices sky high, and interest rates climbing. People are essentially stuck with gas-guzzlers, with nowhere to go. It's ugly out there.
I've heard a lot about Honda discontinuing the Clarity, but lo and behold, look at Honda's website on 3/17/22 (below). Unless you live in a state with cheap electricity or can get free charging at your workplace, I would avoid an EV. Recently, a gallon of gas was $4.34 and the equivalent amount of electricity, 33.7 kWh, would cost $5.05 at $0.15/kWh.
![Automotive parking light Car Tire Wheel Vehicle]()
![Automotive parking light Car Tire Wheel Vehicle]()
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Except that the PHEV battery capacity is really 14KWH, and gets you 45 miles. 33 cents is high, even for California. But, using that figure gives 14 x .33 = $4.62 to go 45 miles. Here in So. Utah our electric rates are 8.5 cents per kWh up to 800, and the 12 cents per kWh thereafter (14×.085 = $1.19) If you have a TOU plan where you live you can charge at off peak times and keep it close to 20 cents per kWh.
Clarity has been discontinued. What you are seeing on the Honda website is the 2021 model which was the last year it was produced.
What you're conveniently neglecting to mention is that the majority of EVs sold today can go about four miles for every kilowatt-hour of energy they carry. My Bolt, which carries about two gallons-worth of electrical energy (66kWh), can go 250 miles.
For those paying attention, it's all about how efficiently a vehicle can make use of that energy.
My Bolt gets the equivalent of over a hundred miles per gallon of gas.
Edit to add...As does the Clarity PHEV, when it's running in EV mode.
Blanket statements such as "the majority of EVs sold today can go about four miles for every kilowatt-hour of energy they carry" are misleading. Gee, so the Clarity should be rated (4 X 15) for 60 miles on EV? I wonder why it's only rated for 47 then? That statement does not account for "real world" conditions. No matter the efficiency of the power source, the prime determinants of how far a vehicle can travel on gas or electricity are still the same- operating temperature, terrain, and driving habits. On the other hand, if you don't care about operating costs and just want to save the environment, you are to be congratulated.
The majority of EVs sold today are Teslas (Model 3's, specifically), and they come in right around 4mi/kWh. There's nothing misleading about that.
The Clarity PHEV is not an EV.
I regularly get 60+ miles on a full charge on my Clarity. On the highway it’s a little less at about 55.
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my ioniq 5 gets really close to 4, and that's with a wife who has a lead foot
what we'll save in gas v electricity will be spent in new tires, probably
add in traffic tickets, and we'll lose money
but... every day is a great time to buy an EV!
after the chip shortage is "managed", it'll be a great time to buy any car, really
talk about a glut, there will be ridiculous sales... get ready for stacked, wall-to-wall tv car ads
what we'll save in gas v electricity will be spent in new tires, probably
add in traffic tickets, and we'll lose money
but... every day is a great time to buy an EV!
after the chip shortage is "managed", it'll be a great time to buy any car, really
talk about a glut, there will be ridiculous sales... get ready for stacked, wall-to-wall tv car ads
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