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Honda Clarity Plug-in Hybrid and Clarity Electric Debut in New York

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2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid

2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid

Honda filled out its Clarity lineup in New York today, debuting both the all-new Clarity Plug-in Hybrid and the Clarity Electric, which will soon join the already available Clarity Fuel Cell sedan on the automotive market.

The automaker says that it is targeting US sales of 75,000 Clarity vehicles over the course of the first four model years. The Clarity series will also help Honda achieve its goal of a five-fold increase in the automaker’s US sales of electrified vehicles over the next four years, which is part of the company’s larger goal to have two-thirds of its global automobile sales come from electrified vehicles by the year 2030.

“The Honda Clarity is aimed at accelerating the deployment of advanced electrified powertrain technology and bringing electrified vehicles further into the mainstream,” said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president of American Honda, during today’s unveiling at the 2017 New York Auto Show. “The Clarity series also heralds the advancement of our Honda Electrification Initiative, representing our investment in the full spectrum of electric-vehicle technologies.”

“Electrification is the future of mobility and the future of Honda, and it all starts now with this new Clarity series,” added Steve Center, the vice president of the Connected and Environmental Business Development Office at American Honda.

2017 Honda Clarity Electric

The 2017 Honda Clarity Electric

The 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-in Hybrid will launch nationwide later this year, offering drivers an anticipated, best-in-class all-electric driving range rating of 42 miles. When using its hyper-efficient 1.5-liter Atkinson cycle 4-cylinder engine, the Clarity Plug-in Hybrid should have an overall driving range rating that exceeds 330 miles. Honda anticipates that the model will earn an EPA fuel economy rating of 105 MPGe  (miles per gallon of gasoline-equivalent) combined, which would also place it at the top of its class.

Powered by a 161-horsepower electric motor, the 2017 Honda Clarity Electric is anticipated to have an EPA fuel economy rating of 120/102/111 MPGe (city/highway/combined). The EV can also be fully charged in just over three hours at 240 volts, and when using DC fast charging with the SAE Combined Charging System, can reach an 80% charge in just 30 minutes.

Both the Clarity Plug-in Hybrid and the Clarity Electric feature three selectable driving modes—Normal, Econ and Sport.

When it goes on sale later this year, the Clarity Plug-in Hybrid will be offered in two premium-contented trims: standard and Touring. The Clarity Electric, which will also reach dealerships later this year, will begin its launch with an attractive lease program in California and Oregon.