Lease Honda Clarity Hybrid Plug-In and Tax Credits

Ask the Hackrs
1

Looking for some input and ideas about the possibility of leasing a new Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid.
It appears that Honda’s lease rates on these vehicles is very high, leading me to believe that they are
not passing to the lessee any of the federal tax credits received by the Lessor.

Recently I was considering leasing a Hyundai Sonata Plug-In and the numbers provided included
a hefty discount from Hyundai Finance of over $9,000 (in addition to the dealer discounts, loyalty rebate, Boost Up credit, etc). I was told this is because Hyundai is passing on the federal tax credit to the lessee. The Sonata plug-in tax credit is $4919 compared to $7500 on the Clarity plug-in, because the Honda has a
larger battery size.

I’m curious if anyone has any information or details on this, or suggestions as to how to proceed.

Sorry, but I don’t currently have all the numbers to share, but can provide them later.

Thanks very much.

2

Interesting in knowing more myself. Currently looking into the Clarity PHEV for my dad. The best advertised lease I’ve seen is $319/month with $2,999 at lease signing (Rock Honda in So Cal)

The EV version is currently being offered for $199/month, $899 due at signing, but range is too short for him (can’t even make it to LAX and back). The MSRP for the EV version shouldn’t be that much different than the PHEV (mystery since EV is lease only), and both qualify for the $7500 federal electric vehicle credit. But I suspect like you that Honda isn’t passing along the full credit and thus there is the significant difference in lease costs. Of course, there’s significantly less demand for the EV due to its limited range, hence the very nice lease offers.

3

So the best lease for the Clarity I’ve seen advertised so far is Spreen Honda @ $249 for 36/12 with $3995 due at signing. I posted details in the other thread on Clarity leases.