Honda discontinues fuel-cell vehicle, Clarity

Honda says it has stopped production of the Japanese market Odyssey minivan and Legend sedan due to low sale of the hydrogen vehicles.

A Honda official told Autoweek, “We discontinued the RLX after the 2020 model year, so we haven’t had it in the lineup for about a year now.”

Honda launched the Clarity six years ago, and even though it’s going away it has not ruled out working on more hydrogen technology in the future.

“The entire Clarity series played a valuable role in advancing Honda’s portfolio approach to electrification, which is an important aspect of our commitment to reduce CO2 emissions,” the official said.

The official also said, “Now, with a commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050, Honda has set a target to make 100% of our vehicles sales battery-electric or fuel-cell electric by 2040.

“We are evolving our strategy with a focus on increased application of our two-motor hybrid system to core models in advance of the introduction of our first volume BEV models in 2024,” Honda told us.

“Consistent with this strategy, Honda will conclude production of the Clarity Plug-in Hybrid and Clarity Fuel Cell in August 2021. This will ensure we have the Clarity Fuel Cell available for lease through 2022, and Honda will continue to support our Clarity customers in the marketplace.

The automaker noted that the fuel cell EV would play a key role in our zero emissions strategy, “which is being advanced by our joint manufacturing and development agreements,” Honda told us. “We continue to make significant investments in fuel-cell infrastructure and battery technology.”

To that end, Honda’s partnership with General Motors to develop fuel-cell vehicles and EVs is expected to continue.

The Clarity, Legend, and Odyssey were all built Honda’s Sayama plant, scheduled to close in March 2022.

The Clarity Fuel Cell was a lease-only car and it has been reported that a poor hydrogen refueling infrastructure contributed to slow demand for the model.