The hybrid lease-only sedan isn’t anymore, but few will notice it.
As Honda unveiled the Clarity Electric at the 2017 New York Auto Show. It said that the car was the “first compact, medium-sized, five-passenger electric vehicle (BEV).”
Although the brand has high hopes for its zero-emission sedan. The underwhelming range of just 89 miles (143 kilometers) from a 25.5 kWh battery pack was essentially its Achilles heel. Because consumers have much higher expectations in terms of the range from an electric car.
This comes as no surprise that USA Today has heard from Honda that the Clarity Electric is no more. But the Plug-in Hybrid and the Fuel Cell versions will be a soldier on at least through the 2020 model year.
All three produced 11,654 unit combined revenue in 2019. Marking a huge 42 percent decrease compared to the previous year. The plug-in hybrid is possibly the most common among the three. Particularly since the Electric was only available in California and Oregon as a lease whereas the Fuel Cell is exclusive to California.
The Surviving Clarity Model:
The Clarity Electric had an ace up its sleeve. As it was Honda’s first EV to take advantage of fast-charging technology. Replenishing the battery in only half an hour to an 80 percent point.
That sounds good on paper. But you get 71.2 miles (114.5 kilometers) of range in 30 minutes when you do the math. Which isn’t something to talk about at home.
With the Clarity Electric getting the proverbial axis and the adorable E city car not coming to the United States. This means that for the moment Honda does not have an EV to sell in North America.
Green Car Reports reports the Clarity Electric has also been dropped from Japan and Canada’s automaker web pages. So the future of the car looks grim. If it even has a future at all.
