On 11 Mar 2020 at 11:41, Mark Abramowitz via EV wrote: > Three cars on the same platform with power trains that match three different > duty cycles.
A double or even triple powertrain strategy does make sense from that perspective, or at least it probably did when the Clarity was introduced. And the Clarity looks like a rather nice car, if you like midsize sedans. I also agree with you that drivers usually over-perceive their need for range, but the fact remains that (alas) perception might as well be reality. However, I finally found a price for the 2019 Clarity EV - $36,620. Today, to be blunt, who pays that kind of money for a 135km EV? The PH gas version was and is only $33,400, and has a 75km EV range. No wonder the Clarity EV didn't sell. If Honda couldn't or wouldn't make it range-competitive, then it was probably time to put it out of its misery. Besides, with rapidly expanding EV range across the board, I see a diminishing business case for PHs of all types, regardless of fuel. Let me give you an example of what I mean. Today in France, Europe's largest nation, you can buy a supermini EV with a real world range of 350km for less than $29,000 out the dealer's door - under $20,000, if you're willing to lease the battery. Meanwhile, the major French autoroutes now have EV charging at nearly all rest stops that also have filling stations. Twenty-two kw AC charging is widely available. They're rapidly being fitted for 50kw Chademo and CCS DC charging. Right now, you can easily drive that car from Paris to Toulouse or Montpelier with two 50kw charging stops of 40-50 minutes each. With care and a light foot, you could probably do it with one stop, but I wouldn't want to risk it. I don't know about you, but most of my travel rest stops tend to be around 25 minutes anyway. Give me another 20 minutes to kill, and I'll just add a coffee and a snack. (Oops, better watch those calories. :-) >From what I can see, most other major EU nations are similar in terms of charging points, and they're smaller than France, so trip distances will be even shorter. At least in Europe, who really needs a plug hybrid? I don't know whether that's true in the USA. But again being blunt, except for Tesla, the US is not really where the future of transportation is being written. David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA EVDL Administrator = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = EVDL Information: http://www.evdl.org/help/ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Note: mail sent to "evpost" and "etpost" addresses will not reach me. To send a private message, please obtain my email address from the webpage http://www.evdl.org/help/ . = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/index.html INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
