Honda marketed the fully electric version of its Clarity sedan, which came out three years ago, as the most affordable middle-class EV out there. Unfortunately, fitting it with a meager 25.5-kWh battery was a wrong decision.
As a result, the car could run 143 kilometers (89 miles) at most on a full charge – almost one-third of what the otherwise comparable Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus could manage. Sure, the Clarity had a premium interior trim to show for its ‘middle-class’ status, but most customers still found it inadequate, given the sorely lacking range.
Therefore, it came as no surprise when Honda announced the discontinuation of the Clarity Electric line earlier today. The PHEV and Hydrogen variants of the same sedan will remain in production at least for another year, but their combined outlook is not too bright, either. In 2019, sales of the Clarity range in the USA plummeted 42% to just 11,654 units. The PHEV version was the most demanded among regular customers, because the Electric was only available via leasing in Oregon and California, and the Hydrogen in California alone.
With the Honda e urban compact only available in Europe, the Japanese automaker now has no EVs on offer in the United States anymore.