Honda Clarity to get electric, plug-in hybrid versions
Honda is taking a page out of Hyundai's books, announcing plans for electric and plug-in hybrid variants to join a hydrogen fuel cell version of its Clarity sedan.
Following the launch of the Clarity fuel cell vehicle (FCV) in the United States in late 2016, electric and plug-in hybrid versions will go on sale in 2017, according to Honda, making it the industry's first vehicle to offer those three choices on one model platform.
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The plan echoes that of the Hyundai IONIQ, which will be available with an industry-first three electrified options—full electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid—when it hits the market.
Honda said the Clarity Electric "will be the first affordable, midsize, five-passenger battery electric vehicle (BEV) to offer premium content and features."
Expected to be the volume leader for the Clarity, the plug-in hybrid version will boast an electric driving range "in excess" of 40 miles, or more than 64 kilometres.
"The Honda Clarity Series will provide customers with a well-equipped, premium, midsize vehicle with range of ultra low-carbon powertrain options to suit their lifestyle needs," Honda executive John Mendel said in a statement.
"This Honda trio of dedicated, advanced technology vehicles, along with the expanded application of two- and three-motor hybrid systems to our core models, represents a strong commitment to Honda's future and will help create a new volume pillar for electrified vehicle sales."
The Clarity trio, along with the 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid, are part of Honda's plan to have electrified vehicles account for two-thirds of its global vehicles sales by "around" 2030.