Honda announced the Clarity Electric and Clarity Plug-In Hybrid the next models its series of zero emissions vehicles that started with the Clarity Fuel Cell in December in California.
The Clarity series is the first car in the industry to offer fuel cell, battery electric, and plug-in hybrid powertrains on a single vehicle platform. This 3-in-1 approach, is aimed at accelerating the deployment of advanced electrified powertrain technology.
Earlier this year in Detroit, Honda announced an all-new dedicated Honda hybrid car coming next year that will feature our 2-motor hybrid system, which also powers the Accord Hybrid, the most fuel-efficient midsize sedan in America. The all-new Honda hybrid car will be built in America.
Within the next several years, Honda will begin to apply this system to light-truck lineup as well. In fact, over the next two years, more than half of the new models Honda will bring to market in the U.S. will be electrified vehicles of one kind or another. Honda has set a target for two-thirds of Honda’s total vehicle sales to be electrified by the year 2030.
During the reveal at the New York Auto show Honda noted that selling electric cars challenging target, especially here in our the United Staes, where gas costs less than bottled water.
With the Clarity series, Honda is offering a unique value proposition, three next-generation vehicles with advanced styling, incredibly refined driving performance, and a premium-contented interior that comfortably seats five adults and all at an affordable price.
The Honda Electrification Initiative that underpins this new Clarity series will ultimately involve virtually all of our core products and it will touch every aspect of our business including our U.S. plants and suppliers.
In fact, last month Honda established a new joint-venture initiative with Hitachi Automotive Systems to develop and produce electric motors for electrified vehicles. This new venture will produce themotors in America. At the same time, Honda is studying ways in which it can advance the capabilities of manufacturing plants to efficiently produce electrified vehicles in significant volumes.
This “3-in-1” approach is all about meeting the diverse needs of our customers and as Jeff said, providing them with choice. The Clarity Fuel Cell is for the true believers, the most devoted of green motorists, who really want to cut the cord altogether and be on the absolute leading edge of an advanced technology future. The Clarity offers 366 miles range with a 3 to 5 minute refuel.
Honda wil focus on plug-in hybrids and, to a lesser degree, battery electrics. The Clarity Electric is designed for the EV “purists”, customers who want the experience of an all-electric vehicle combined with the premium quality, five-passenger sedan space and affordability of a Clarity. It’s estimated 80-mile range is designed around the needs of commuters, offering them greater efficiency in their daily driving.
If you want a large, luxurious, 5-passenger battery-electric sedan that’s affordable, the Clarity EV is your car. The Clarity Electric is powered by a 161-horsepower electric motor drawing from its 25.5 kilowatt-hour battery pack. Full recharge time at 240 volts will be just over 3 hours but it also features DC fast charging, which achieves an 80 percent charge in just 30 minutes.
The Clarity Electric EPA range rating is estimated to be at 120 MPGe city. Pricing has not been set, but it is expected to the mid-30s available initially in California and Oregon. The Clarity Electric features three selectable driving modes – Normal, Econ and Sport.
The Clarity Plug-In Hybrid, will be the volume leader in our Clarity lineup, sold in all 50 states. The Clarity Plug-In Hybrid is designed for customers who want to take that next step forward in environmental performance but still want the range and refueling flexibility that comes from a gas-electric hybrid approach. The Plug-In is anticipated to earn an all-electric driving range rating of 42 miles, the longest of any midsize plug-in hybrid.
For longer trips, the Clarity Plug-In Hybrid can utilize its hyper-efficient engine to generate electricity and, under certain conditions, act as a direct power source to provide an overall driving range in excess of 330 miles. Electromotive power comes from a 181-horsepower motor and a 17 kilowatt-hour battery pack with a recharge time of 2.5 hours at 240 volts.
The Clarity Plug-In Hybrid will have an EPA range rating of 105 MPGe and a gasoline-only rating of 42 miles per gallon, although final EPA-certified numbers will come closer to launch. Clarity Plug-In Hybrid features three selectable modes, which provide the ability to maximize efficiency or driving performance.
The pricing is expected to bein n the mid-30s.
All three Clarity models will feature premium levels of content, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and the full suite of Honda Sensing safety and driver-assistive technologies as standard equipment. That means autonomous braking, also known as CMBS, Road Departure Mitigation, Adaptive Cruise Control with Low-Speed Follow and Lane Keeping Assist among other advanced technologies.
The interior of the Clarity is bright, modern and sophisticated, it offers a level of premium feel, comfort and refinement that no one at this price point can match.
All three use a high percentage of environmentally-friendly materials including plant-derived bio fabrics for much of the interior. Taken together, over the course of the first four model years, Honda wants to sell about 75,000 Clarity vehicles in America.
Add in other electrified products in the pipeline, and Honda expect sales of Honda electrified vehicles – hybrids, plug-ins and fuel cells – to grow roughly five-fold over that same time period.