Honda Clarity Electric quietly discontinued for 2020
After the Clarity's demise, Honda will not offer any totally electric cars in the US.
Honda has pulled the plug on the Honda Clarity Electric. The pun is totally intended.
According a Monday report from Green Car Reports, the Japanese automaker said it discontinued the Clarity Electric at the end of 2019. Right now, according to the report, there's no plans for the model to return. Honda confirmed the EV's death with Roadshow and said in a statement, "We will be introducing new, highly appealing all-electric vehicles for the U.S. market in the years ahead."
The battery-electric version of the Clarity rounded out a diverse lineup of alternative-fuel options housed in the nameplate. Honda still sells a plug-in hybrid version of the Clarity and introduced modest updates to the Clarity Fuel Cell for 2020. Honda only offered the EV version in Oregon and California, however. Ditto for the fuel cell version as well.
The Clarity Plug-In Hybrid was originally offered in numerous states, though low demand drove the car out of the Northeast last summer. At the time, Honda told Roadshow California will be the PHEV's main focus, though the car remains available to order at any Honda dealer nationwide.
In all honesty, the Clarity Electric was likely a tough sell -- even for California buyers. The EV went an estimated 89 miles on a charge with a small 25.5 kilowatt-hour battery pack. Today, numerous companies sell EVs with a range well over 200 miles. The number of automakers prepared to introduce competitive EVs will only grow this year, too.
However, Honda hasn't indicated it's ready to play ball with EVs in the US. The wonderful Honda E isn't slated for the US, after all. The US remains a tough EV market outside of select states with slow adoption rates, so perhaps it'll be awhile before we see totally electric Hondas.
Originally published March 9.
Update, March 10: Adds confirmation and statement from Honda.
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