North Poll aka Canada ;): Clarity delivery ETA wait times

I went to a dealer with my Clarity today and we got talking (I had mine since Dec 15, probably one of the first, if not the first in GTA)

He said he has 12 on back order and have no idea when he can fulfill those. He did say that all the Clarity that comes in are Touring models now. Not getting any base models.

 

Based on what i have been seeing, there has been only one delivery of the cars - that was the initial delivery. post that i think i am unable to co-relate any new deliveries.

 

Honda is still trying to get the word out on the Clarity, and still has at least some cars available for delivery:

http://www.hondanews.ca/en/news/release/Honda-Clarity-Makes-a-Home-at-the-Plug-N-Drive-Electric-Vehicle-Discovery-Centre

If anyone drops by to take a look, let us know the VIN numbers, and the build date on the door jam sticker.

 

A new one just appeared in carguru located in Calgary. It does not say Touring.

 

Tell them you are considering buying one but you heard there were supply problems and then ask them how long it takes to get one if they order today.

Please.

 

that seems like an older listing which had dropped off and now back on.

it shows a listed on cargurus for 143 days, and the vin posted is JC800034 which is quite old

 

Here is the newest article which includes April numbers and shows the Clarity drop to 73 units due to lack of supply. The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has greatly increased sales to surpass the Volt and Leaf as the #1 PHEV by volume, double the volume in the US.

 

I have been posting in many places to try to get a status from Honda Canada..I got one..but won't help us much...
Honda Canada on facebook:
Question: Hi, what is the current status on the Base Clarity model in Canada? Dealerships says from 3 months to 'no clue' to clients. As production been stopped or are we going to get a big surprise delivery appeared in the next few weeks?
Answer from Honda Can: Honda Canada Hi Alex, thanks for reaching out. We’re grateful for all the enthusiasm around the Clarity Plug-In Hybrid and it's already helping us popularize the benefits of electrified vehicles. More awareness means greater demand so we’re working hard to get more Canadians behind the wheel of the Clarity PHEV.

 

This is what I got from Honda Canada on Facebook:

Hi Danny, thank you for getting in touch. We apologize for the delayed response. We’re grateful for all the enthusiasm around the Clarity Plug-In Hybrid and it's already helping us popularize the benefits of electrified vehicles. More awareness means greater demand so we’re working hard to get more Canadians behind the wheel of the Clarity PHEV. Please follow up with your dealer on updates.

And my reply:

Thank You for replying back so soon. I have been in contact with my dealer almost every week and all they have to say is 'We don't know when your car will be here'. Also I have asked my dealer several questions regarding the Clarity and they told me no one from Honda Canada can answer the questions I asked, I found it interesting that Honda Canada is trying to sell this car and yet no one can answer some basic questions.

I am asking you here and maybe someone in Honda Canada can actually answer these questions:

1. Does the Canadian Clarity has a heat pump?

2. Does the Canadian Clarity use Resistive heat (and/or Heat Pump) to heat the car exclusively or will it use the ICE waste heat to heat the car if the ICE is on?

3. The car is supposed to have a Battery Heater. How does it work? Does it work only when the car is plugged-in, or if not plugged-in, does it use the battery pack to provide power to warm the battery when the car is sitting in the parking lot in -30C temp provided the battery has enough charge? If so, what is the battery charge threshold?

4. Can the car be started when the 12V battery is drained/dead? If not, can a regular jumper cable jump start the Clarity?

5. If I live on top of a hill and fully charged the car to 100%. When I start the car in the morning and drive downhill, can the regen/deceleration paddle slow down the car? If not, will the engine come on and use engine braking to slow down the car or will it only use the friction brake to slow down the car with no regen?

6. In ‘Accessory’ mode, does the seat heater works or does it only work in ‘On’ mode?

7. Has Honda Canada been getting complains regarding the totally unrealistic HV range guesstimate from the Clarity? Many owners are showing pictures of the HV range of over 1000km/miles and even after the low fuel warning light come on, estimated range is still showing hundreds of km left

8. Is there any difference between using the HV mode button or just push the Accelerator hard past the 'detent' to start the engine? After the engine start, it seems not to go back to pure EV mode unless I stop the car and re-start the car (this is what my dealer told me). Is there anyway to get the car to go back to EV mode once the engine starts (while there are plenty of charge in the battery pack) without stopping and restarting the car?

 

After hearing back from a few more dealerships in Montreal about possible stock base models (poster was wrong, they only have a few tourings), I have learned that many dealerships have oversold vehicles and hope Honda comes up with the extra.

This means some customers may not get a 2018 Clarity at all. In at least 2 dealerships, they have sold 100% more Clarity’s than they expect to receive. They don’t think it’s a problem because the customers can cancel or receive a 2019 when they arrive but I think that is morally wrong to sell a customer something you don’t actually expect them to receive.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs

 

iluvscuba, if you get Honda to answer these very well thought out questions (that we all want answered), I will nominate you for Sainthood!!!!
Lascuba, Patron Saint of Clarity, I hope.

 

Kentucky, thanks for your kind word.

I am not sure if I deserve that title, you all are much more deserving as I learned much from participating in this forum. Hopefully I can actually contribute some useful information whenever Honda decides to send some cars to Canada!!!

As for the questions, all I did was gather all the questions and problems I read in this forum and send them to my dealers 2 weeks ago (which they told me yesterday that Honda Canada has no answer for them) and today send them directly to Honda Canada. If I do get anything from Honda Canada (not holding much hope), I will of course post them here in the Saint Clarity forum.

BTW, some lady in the Clarity Facebook page said she ordered a base trim on April 24th and should be receiving her car in the next few days. She said she lived just north of Montreal. I will see if she is willing to tell me what her VIN number is so we can find out if it is new stock or old stock.

 

I’ve been reading this forum on/off the past month as I was deciding on purchase. Information here has been very helpful! Finally going ahead with ordering, contacted two dealers in GTA. Both are not offering any discount off MSRP. They were quite firm on that. One of them, Sisley, just told me today that they’re no longer taking any Clarity orders. Just adding info from a wanna-be-owner.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs

 

https://twitter.com/HondaCanada/status/994611332455583744

 

I've had exreme success in speaking with Montreal dealers. I've just ordered a white base model that will be arriving in a month. Before I pick it up ill register it with ontario and bring a set of plates.From there it's just the long drive home.

 

Did you get a VIN on the paperwork or a promise that it will be there in a week

 

I ordered a touring model in the middle of April and I was told by the dealer at the beginning of this week they expect it to be delivered in about a month.