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Hyundai Kona Electric Gets Shockingly Low Price Tag In US
18 H BY DOMENICK YONEY 239
This should really juice demand!
The Hyundai Kona Electric has been long awaited in the U.S. But, when it arrives here early next year, we now know how much it will cost: $36,450. If we subtract the $7,500 federal tax credit from that, we’re looking at a mere $28,950. Then, there are the various state incentives that can reduce that number even more. Californians, for example, could be looking at an overall starting price of just $26,450!
More about the Hyundai Kona Electric
What buyers will get in return is a competent compact crossover with a 64-kWh battery pack that returns an impressive EPA-rated range of 258 miles. That’s the best range of any all-electric available in the U.S. that isn’t a Tesla. The Kona Electric will come in several trim levels and pricing for higher-spec versions will be announced soon, according to the Korean automaker.
We believe that, at this price level, demand for the Kona Electric should be pretty significant. Though we had worried that the supply from the Korean automaker might be somewhat limited, the company has, recently, said that it will satisfy the U.S. hunger for the vehicle.
This news confirms for us that 2019 will be an extremely interesting one with regards to how the different plug-in choices affect the market. Will, for instance, the competitive arrival of this Hyundai have a negative effect on sales of existing electric models like the Chevy Bolt, or will it help expand the market overall? Perhaps it will force other automakers to sharpen their pricing pencils or offer more features in their offerings.
Check out the official press blast below for all the details.
Hyundai Kona Electric
6 photos
2019 HYUNDAI KONA ELECTRIC PRICING CONFIRMS AN UNPRECEDENTED SUB-$30K ELECTRIC CROSSOVER VALUE WITH 258 MILES OF RANGE VIEW ONLINE
• Kona Electric Starts Below $30,000 with Available $7,500 Tax Credit
• Generous 258-Mile Estimated Range Meets More Varied Lifestyle Needs
• New Electric CUV offers Youthful Design, Sporty Driving Character, Leading Safety Technology and Advanced Infotainment Features in an Affordable, Compact Footprint
• Abundant Suite of Standard Safety EquipmentFOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Dec. 14, 2018 – Hyundai today announced the starting price for its long-awaited 2019 Kona Electric convention-breaking electric crossover. The Kona Electric starting price is $36,450, for an effective net price of $28,950 ($29,995 including delivery), with the electric vehicle tax credit of $7,500 factored in. Customers may receive the available federal tax credit of up to $7,500, dependent on individual tax circumstances, yielding a sub-$30,000 net value.
Pricing for other Kona Electric trims will be announced shortly.
Kona Electric rides on an all-new CUV platform and is Hyundai’s first compact electric crossover for the U.S. market, appealing to consumers with active, eco-focused lifestyles of all kinds. Kona Electric models will be produced in Ulsan, Korea and will be available in the beginning of 2019, with initial availability in California and subsequently in the ZEV-focused states in the western and northeastern regions of the U.S. market.“Our new Kona Electric crossover is an exceptionally affordable, stylish and efficient compact electric CUV, tailored to the needs of customers who pursue eco-focused active lifestyles requiring generous range,” said Mike O’Brien, vice president of Product, Corporate and Digital Planning, Hyundai Motor America. “We’re confident it will set new standards for the electric-propelled compact CUV segment, with outstanding value, range flexibility, appealing design, cutting-edge connectivity, and class-leading available safety features.”
Source: Hyundai
Categories: Hyundai
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239 Comments on "Hyundai Kona Electric Gets Shockingly Low Price Tag In US"
Wowzers, for Coloradans thats only $23,950! Once it gets to this state.
Which it probably won’t, unless CO joins the ZEV standard, which is apparently currently inder consideration.
CO started the process, but won’t become a full ZEV state for a few years.
https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/zero-emission-vehicle-mandate-proposal
They’ve adopted LEV, but the Request For Hearing consideration for ZEV is now not scheduled until May 2019. If they grant the Request For Hearing and schedule rulemaking then there’ll be another process for that.
Hyundai promised to sell it in all states. That article is linked in this one. They won’t have inventory everywhere, but anyone who orders the car can buy it from and pick it up at a dealership in their own state, thus getting all state credit.
That means no leases. That means only affluent buyers will be tempted. Especially since those dealers will NOT be equipped to service electric cars, and out-of-state repairs will be required for some more time.
I think that’s why Hyundai did it this way. Avoids bad PR, yet heavy preselection means small to none pressure on stock/availability in core markets.
It also lets them maintain price, which they usually have trouble doing. If they flood the market like Bolt EV they will be selling for usual Kia 10 or 15% discount.
Not sure I’d call it a “shockingly low price”. Same price as the Bolt when you add the destination charge.
They will have the advantage of the full Tax Credit (the Bolt loses that after March) unless Congress changes something.
$170 cheaper than a Bolt. Guess that’s shocking? Lol
If you spec out the bolt ev to Kona ev base, it’s 39,790.
And what discounts will be available?
We know the Bolt has some heavy discounts.
Probably none to begin with as it will be in short supply and high demand.
Have seen Bolt Premier with most options ticked listed for $32k before incentives.
You can’t, really. Compared to the Bolt, Kona has multilink suspension, upgraded seats, premium interior, auto lane keeping, auto headlights, auto wipers, heads-up display, ventilated seats, 50% faster charging, 10% higher efficiency, 10% more range, and, IMHO, much better styling. I’m sure there’s more — Kona is very well equipped.
For the same money, the Bolt doesn’t even have fast charging capability at all, and if you buy that you only get the 50 kW CCS port.
Bolt has some strong points, but Kona is definitely better value now. And it should be — it’s nearly two years since the Bolt launched. At a price that was, back then, far more shockingly low than the Kona is now.
“Bolt has some strong points”
What are they?
Roominess, acceleration, regeneration, availability. Speaking as a Bolt daily driver, not an armchair “professor”
Comparing speced out Bolt to stock Kona would only make sense if Kona already incuded all the stuff in base….
And it will absolutely kill Bolt sales because as GM loses its tax credits the Kona/Niro will be thousands cheaper and have much nicer interiors and vastly better DCFC speeds compared to the gimped speeds that GM stupidly thought would be ok.
GM will likely drop the Bolt EV price as they lose the tax credit.
I would not bet on that!
They’ll set the price where it needs to be to sell as many EVs as GM needs to (to avoid getting fined over fleet averages). Without incentives and with tougher competition, that ought to be a lower one than now, but we can safely assume they aren’t going to attempt outselling the Kona or otherwise try to compete in the normal way. The Bolt is pretty good IMO, but it is a compliance car!
(Lots of folks use that term as if it describes how it’s engineered, but it really means any car sold only to comply with regulations. The Bolt, unchanged, would seize to be a compliance car tomorrow if GM did all it could to make and sell as many as possible. But with losses on each, that doesn’t seem very likely.)
By your definition the Kona EV is a compliance car in the US, sold only in ZEV states, strip the critical battery heater preventing sale in northern climates. Bolt EV is 50 state available.
Tougher fleet average standards where supposed to be activated in USA in near future. Current administration works on high revs to crash them.
Aren’t they. Already loosing thousands on every bolt sold?
Now they will loose even more.
We really know the answer to that question.
Some folks are saying the development cost is included in the loss figure. If so, then that cost is there if they sell one car or a million. So there my be some wiggle room to lower the price.
Perhaps, but do you think the price will drop $7,500? Plus there is still the crummy seats issue.
No, but it will probably drop $3,000 shortly after the credit gets cut in half. And then it will drop $1,000 when it gets cut in half again.
Check back in ten years and see who is stupid. I believe that GM is babying the battery to ensure it will last 10 years and therefor no warranty claims. Other manufacturers well… we’ll see. Just like ICE powered cars, I’m convinced that odometer mileage is a very different animal than calendar years. Until any of the modern generation battery packs go ten years, it’s hard to judge IMO. Then again, people that never intend to keep any car longer than 3 years before they turn it back really don’t care about such things.
I don’t agree. Say you give the Bolt 75 kW charging and it cause 5% of the BEV packs to fail within warranty vs. 2% of the ones that charged at a max rate of 50 kW. So you have 3% additional packs that need to be re-furbed and installed in Bolts that have packs that have degraded more than 20% within 8 years.* It isn’t like GM is going to give everyone a new pack, they will just use re-furbed packs and that will cost them very little. And they will not lose sales to people who want to be able to DCFC at 75 kW on their roadtrips. Faster charging is a big sales feature for a lot of people even if they use it seldom.
* I think the warranty is for 20% but I could be wrong on that.
So does the $36,450 include destination; I suspect not but does anyone actually know???
$29995 includes destination charge according to the article. So to answer your question, $36450 does not include destination charge.
Not according to one of the press releases I saw. Destination charge looked to be about $1,000.
Yes. If I thought $37000 was shockingly cheap, I would have bought a Bolt.
The bolt does not look like a 40,35, or $30K
car. It looks like a car in the $19K – $25K
Kona looks like a car in the $22k -$32K
No, pretty sure they both look like $20k cars, in fact, the Kona has a $20k version available, the Bolt EV does not.
Where’s the $20k Kona with 201HP?
I’m pretty sure GM will have full tax credits until June?
Nope.
Nope – they crossed 200K during Q4 of 2018 (within the past month) meaning they only have the rest of this quarter + all of next quarter, so the reduced credit will be there starting in April.
GM seems to kind of be doing the opposite of maximizing how much they can take advantage of this credit, by ending Volt production right now… unless that leads to increasing Bolt production by more than they’re reducing Volt production, which I don’t think it does.
The Volt production is not ending until Q2 I think.
Thru March.
Better range
Some people with money could probably export a full ro-ro car carrier to Norway, and make a $5-8K profit on each vehicle. That is excluding the tax credit too. Just register, and export directly after, like KIA does in Germany.
That is of corse, if Hyundai can deliver that many. In Norway, they stopped taking orders after 20K orders. It was supposed to take two years to deliver those 20K.
If they have no limit on how many they can deliver to Norway, they can be the number 1 seiling car here.
The ICE versions are selling for ~$21k, so nothing shocking here. Yeah, may be compared to future Model Y prices, it is shockingly low. But not compared to its ICE cousin. I assume, this is fr the base model Kona EV.
It should be compared to the Turbo version, since the Kona electric has better performance than the base version.
So it is somewhat close to $30.
Then the standard features need to be compared closely.
Good, point.
Only Tesla and Volvo are really honest about their positioning of EVs compared to ICEs. Tesla has non ICEs. Volvo makes PHEVs their top trim for a given model.
Everybody else tries to position EV as a different model even if that’s basically the same model. So unaware folks think all the standard outfit from base model ICE trim is all they will get on base EV trim. Which is not.
GM must be preparing for the reveal of their new EV model.
IF they have a new EV model in the pipeline.
Otherwise there might be a problem for GM in 2019.
I thought they were supposed to have two new EV models by end of the year, maybe they were referring to the Chinese models?
I think so the Buick Enclave, or whatever, got scotched by Trump Tariff Man.
Then another one before the Summer, two in 18 months was the promise made Oct 2017.
Buick Envision is imported from China.
They did announce the Bajoun E200 and the Buick Velite 6 PHEV and BEV for China.
Benz-
GM is clearly having problems currently.
Good for Gm with their problems
I personally could care less about GM.
Mary has lots of work to do
Time to reinvent GM.
There’s always been a problem with the “not profitable” Bolt.
You can lease a BMW i3 cheaper.
Mic-Drop.
Who would want to? Supply and DEMAND my friend. Second mic-drop.
Lies from GM just like Ford
What are you talking about? What lies? This is a thread about Hyundais.
They have already revealed the Buick Enspire.
There was also the FNR-X (not to be confused with the FNR), which could still go into production. It was revealed in 2017, I think.
Yea, the tax credit phase out will hit the Bolt hard. GM doesn’t really have an international market for it, like Tesla has for the 3 and w/o the tax credit, their cars compare increasingly unfavorable to competitors that still have them.
Maybe GM shouldn’t have given up on Europe so quickly.
WOW! Things are advancing at a fast and furious pace in the EV world. If I were currently in the market for a new EV this would definitely be under consideration. While I am quite happy with my 2018 Leaf, by the time it comes due for replacement there’s going to be so much more choice available at the lower price points. Bring em on!
It beats the Leaf hands-down.
Aside from the Bolt.
Nope the Bolt too
IMHO this vehicle has a nicer interior than a bolt but then again so does a base model Elantra less hard plastics anyway. Ergonomics in the Hyundai better though that may be a subjective. This is still too expensive IMHO for what it is but if Hyundai manages 50 state availability and some decent lease terms I’m sure they will have decent “sales” numbers. Cool vehicle though the next few years are going to be interesting to watch. I picked up a preowned Model S late last winter for just a little bit more than this so by the time I go to retire it in a few years my hopes are high that there will be more 50 state choices. Remember that the price of $36,450 doesn’t include tax and destination which will put this base model at an off the lot of around $40k. 2015-2016 Model S’s can be had in my area with under 40k miles for around $45k financed with a warranty from Tesla. Mine for is still under warranty not that I’ve needed it since the first owner suffered through that for me.
$40k Kona has $7,500 tax credit plus any rebates. Used cars have no credits/rebates.
I’ll have to compare if/when I ever get to see a Kona EV in person, but looking at the photos the Kona Interior is more old school traditional, while the Bolt is a bit more contemporary and futuristic EV.
@Diesel a used car is still a used car and the S is an expensive car to insure and to fix out of warranty. A door handle replacement is about $700 and they tend to fail pretty often on those early cars. So while they might cost the same to buy, they won’t cost the same to own over 6 years.
Depends are where you live for state and local utiliy incentives and if you can use the federal tax credit.
If none of those applies, then buying used is a wise decision.
I’m in the same position — love my ’18 Leaf, but I’m already thinking of what to do when I want to replace it, and, more important, if something will come along to replace my wife’s Rogue so we can go all electric.
Between the Soul EV, the Kona EV, the upcoming Mini, I feel a case of the vapors coming on.
If it was me I would do the Soul. It’s subjective but I love the way it looks. Who doesn’t love hampsters.
Someone who doesn’t know what a hampster is. 😉
Kia’s going to stick a bigger battery in the Soul as well as selling the Niro EV.
Kona is a pretty awesome offering. I’m bummmed they don’t have a battery heater.
That’s pretty aggressive pricing from Hyundai! If they can really make a profit selling at that price, then more power to Hyundai!
But let’s wait to see what the sales volume is. If it’s sold in mere compliance car numbers, then that’s a sign it’s likely being sold below cost.
Yeah, the fact that the say their starting in CA, and then moving to other CARB states does not say to me “we’re making a ton of money selling these.” I mean, I get the prioritization, but….
I think they expect them not to sell well in US so mostly ignore it except for EV markets.
If they sell out of the 100 they offer then it “Sold Well”………LMAO
If it was EV markets they were looking at they’s say California, the other ZEV states, Florida and Colorado.
Get your state to join CARB.
But, that’s currently where the big sales numbers are.
In Pennsylvania, you have to cross over to New Jersey to get some of these cars.
Going over to NY to pick one up or ship one from California
Every car company would move like that, no matter how much profit the car makes. And especially if you consider the ramp up phase, starting in CA, where you can easily move tons of EVs AND get ZEV credits, just makes more sense than distributing the first units over the whole country.
We are also a a point in time, where car makers need to time their tax credits. So they need to have a wide lineup ready once they hit 200k. Hyundai/Kia has the Ioniq, the Kona, the Niro and the Soul, but they need to be fully ramped up by the time they hit 200k.
The sales number in California will be very good I imagine(I’ll be one of the first in line for one, or the e-Niro, come 2019), but regardless of it’s overall sales numbers this should be very exciting news for EV fans and I hope it really creates a ripple through the auto industry. Kudos to Hyundai and Kia for offering well designed and appointed EVs at an affordable price.
GM did this 2 years ago and sold in all 50 states. How is this new? PS GM didn’t send any ripples through the industry as they had hoped. Tesla is doing that at the moment though.
Yep. It turns out that the only people interested in BEVs is wealthy snow flakes. GM miscalculated and thought more ordinary people were really interested. The vast majority of ordinary car buyers are not interested in a precieved compromise at a hefty price from their current vehicles.
Kona EV is being sold all over Europe.
As GM should have done with the Bolt EV, but didn’t only because of sale of Opel. Poor timing for the Bolt EV. They would have sold plenty in Norway and Europe. People would be talking about Opel the way they are about Kia now. It was a missed opportunity, would have been able to reimagine Opel. US is not the right market for Bolt EV.
That is absolutely correct.
The price tag we got, the car not so much. Where is it? When can we get it?
Hey, they’ve been soliciting sales nationwide in Canada for months and we still have no word on price – and (supposedly) mine is to be delivered next month.
Maybe read the entire article….
Early 2019 doesn’t really answer the question on availability.
At that price Bolt sales will plummet. Kona does not look like a bozo mobil.
The $26,450 “Shockingly Low Price” in California could be EVen up to $1k less, as eligible SCE utilitiy customers get additional EV discounts starting next month.
https://evrebates.sce.com/cleanfuel
You can’t get the $2500 rebate in California AND the HOV lane sticker anymore, you have to choose one or the other. Most people in the metropolitan CA areas are looking for sticker cars, so the rebate won’t play a part in reducing the price out the door.
It looks like it is rated overall better than the Bolt but I would opt buy American plus it appears like the Bolt is more fun to drive. Being said, I will wait for a stripped down 3 or the Model Y. I hope they introduce the cheaper versions of the Y not too late in the game. I want the equivalent of the BMW X2 in an electric version – when will that be here?
https://insideevs.com/chevrolet-bolt-hyundai-kona-electric-compared/
Cheaper Y? You could do a 3 year lease on this Kona before that will be available.
Your patriotism is appreciated, but Bolt is basically a S. Korean car as well.
Watch the video. They didn’t like the Bolt seats.
You can’t ignore those seats.
You can’t ignore the Bolt rear suspension either.
Like I’ve said before. The Bolt was designed to Punish the green buyer.
The 2010 Bolt EV is supposed to have improved seats and suspension. Is the new model year not being sold yet?
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2018/08/2019-chevrolet-bolt-ev-on-deck-for-better-seats-improved-suspension/
You are correct, the 2019’s are now out with those improvements. Around 3000+ 2019’s are available according to cars.com. Less than 300 2018’s. and 2017’s are available. So the seats and suspension are non-issues now, if the updates worked.
You clearly never drove one.
I drove a 2017, and I think the seats are horrible. Didn’t buy the car!
Not buying GM if they cutting jobs and sending other jobs to Mexico.(Blazer)
The Bolt sends some jobs to S Korea. Fewer than the KoNiro, though.
Sure, you show them by buying a car 100% made in Korea. Now that’s patriotism!
The flip side of this is by not buying GM they are forced to cut costs and send some jobs to Mexico. It really isn’t a good reason to buy or not buy GM. Buy the car you like irrespective of who made it.
This is how you bitch slap GM and Nissan
By undercutting the Bolt by $170? Lol some bitchslap
No, by delivering a much better car
Much better in what ways?
– more range
– level 1 autonomy
– ACC
– moonroof
– ventilated seats
– DECENT seats
– not dorky looking
– faster charging
– HUD
– Heat Pump
– More Efficient, especially when it’s cold
…
Bolt’s winter range is 125 miles. The Kona will blow that away with the Niro coming in at 233 winter miles.
No. It’s more than 160 miles. On winter tires.
Not in US without a battery heater. Kona is only for moderate or warm climates here.
https://insideevs.com/hyundai-kona-electric-not-for-usa/
HUD Is not on the base model though. Have to get the Ultimate trim for that.
US model of Kona has NO battery heater, it is going to be horrible in the cold and could face battery longevity issues because of that, or at least lost power. Not sure how it will cope with that.
https://insideevs.com/hyundai-kona-electric-not-for-usa/
Are you sure the heat pump is there ? Because I read that apparently it was removed for the French market. Along with the ventilated seats.
Bolt is rated slightly better highway efficiency than the Kona, so highway range might be pretty close. Though with Kona charging faster, I’m sure the Kona would win a road trip race.
Reviewers seem to agree that the cars are quite similar, but where they do differ, the Kona is better in every respect than the Bolt EV except for rear seat room.
And heck, even just glancing at the cars… the Bolt EV is a dorkmobile; the Kona isn’t.
https://insideevs.com/edmunds-hyundai-kona-electric-vs-chevy-bolt/
And acceleration
1. DC fast charging all the way to 74% (bolt 55%).
2. ACC (in California rush hour, it’s a requirement). Bolt no ACC.
3. DCFC included ($750 for Bolt)
4. Driver comfort and safety standard ($1545 extra for the Bolt)
5. 64 kWh usable.
6. Power seats.
7. 5 level of regeneration braking.
8. 72 kW DCFC speed (bolt 55 kW)
9. Full tax credit
10. 10-20% more efficient per Bjorn.
11. Faster dcfc when battery is cold soaked (ask bro1999 about his misadventures with the bolt in winter).
5 levels of regen but weaker overall regen.
ACC with stop and go requires highest option package according to website, so price will likely be mid 40s. Bolt EV advantage is you could buy one today and probably get 15% off MSRP.
I now realize that Kia is limiting this heavily in the US to maintain price (otherwise they would be discounting them heavily too).
I wouldn’t buy the Bolt EV due to lack of ACC and if I am going to bother with DCFC I need 125 kW charging or so at minimum or I buy a PHEV.
It is not, with the exception of a couple available options it is essentially the same thing as the Bolt EV. I will give you faster charging, but GM could easily update the Bolt EV there, it is going on year 3 starting the end of the month.
It is a nearly identical car.
The Kona EV will not have a battery heater in the US market (it does in Europe). This means it will be hampered in northern climates, unlike the Bolt EV.
Source?
I don’t like including links as it tends to cause moderation on comments. A quick Google search for Kona Battery Beater US will reveal several.
Of course fix my typos, so I just posted link from IEV citing no battery heater.
Here: https://insideevs.com/hyundai-kona-electric-not-for-usa/
Undercutting by $170, but with more range and a much more luxurious interior. The Bolt’s only strong point is having a roomier interior. Overall I’d say Kona is better unless you really need to seat larger adults in the back and carry big items.
Does the base model have a more luxurious interior? That is what is going to be selling for $37,000.
No argument. Using an ICE frame compromised interior room of Kona. Niro BEV appears to help in this area but will be more expensive in base trim.
The Kona interior is not luxurious, and I don’t know why people complain so much about Bolt EV. It has a great large touchscreen and interior is modern and fine.
I do think Kona has features more interesting to me, ACC available (or is it standard, hard to tell), but remember this is the base price, leather interior and such are optional like on the Bolt EV. The lack of battery heater on US Kona means it is a no go for me. I really can’t own a BEV without a battery heater (they don’t like -25 C much).
By undercutting the Bolt with something that is in a FAR more desirable vehicle class to American consumers.
Other than the Kona being more attractive – depending on your tastes.
The looks of the Kia Nero EV is more mainstream and similar to an ICE than Kona or Bolt. It may have a market advantage competing for current ICE buyers.
Kona isn’t a CUV/SUV. It is actually 1.2 inches shorter than that Bolt EV. Length and width, they are within 1 inches of each other. Both are FWD only.
Bolt is quicker to 60mph. Kona has slightly more range. It is a wash.
The Bolt EV isn’t a CUV/SUV, either, even if Chevy calls it that for marketing purposes. It’s a hatchback.
Well, then the Kona is too.
Both cars have the same size. The Kona is a tad heavier.
And the Bolt has a slightly roomier interior.
Except it is actually classified as one.
Companies self classify. And since the ICE Kona has AWD available, and a higher ride height than the Kona EV, it can be argued to qualify as a small utility vehicle. So the EV gets the same classification as it’s ICE counterpart being the same model.
Looks are better but vehicle Kona is same size as Bolt EV, in fact less interior room.
Looks are subjective. Both are small and cute. One looks like a compromised ICE based EV conversion, and one looks like a well engineered package tha takes full advantage of being a ground up EV.
It is the same vehicle class. Literally.
Making a better car
Bro — you forgot about the DC Fast Charging capability that costs an extra $750 for the Bolt, which is stock with the Kona. So basically $1K.
And even then, the Bolt is only 50 kW charging capable with the optional DC fast charging, and the Kona is 75 kW capable.
55kW capable.
Limited to 55kW. Probably technically capable up to 80kW. Not sure why they throttled it. Battery life concerns maybe.
Very good news, can’t wait to see how they price the Ioniq.
My 19 Ioniq EV was $30700 MSRP; Hyundai subtracted $8000 if I leased it, so I bit. Between the Federal and state (PA) subsidies, and the gas savings, it will cost me almost nothing to have it for 3 years. It’s only 28 kWh, but it serves my needs very well.
The big battery version will be nice, but it won’t be as cheap.
You have rewarded yourself with your math skills.
You do know that $7,500 of that $8K is the Fed Tax Credit? The leasing company gets the tax credit and you are not eligible to file for it.
Maybe he wouldn’t have been eligible to claim it.
My2020 Ioniq will have 40 kWh battery.
The ICE 2019 Kona ranges from 21,035 to 29,945. So unfortunately a “Shockingly Low Price” is not competitive with equivalent ICE. Its over-priced by probably about $10K. That’s the magic of Tesla’s Model 3. It’s competitively priced with equivalent ICE cars BEFORE incentives. Tesla is literally the only EV maker that has managed that trick.
Post subsidy, it is competitive against ICE. When you consider BEV is lot quicker and smoother, it’ll be value of roughly the upper end of ICE.
And about $5000 in gas savings over 5yrs. Drops that price to be very competitive with ICE.
Very true the 50k model 3 competes very well against 50k ICE cars.
The 35k model 3 not so much, you can’t compete against something with nothing……as in unavailable and unable to buy one.
That’s a pretty good price, slightly cheaper then a Bolt, but it goes further on a charge, and (IMO) looks better.
$30000 before federal tax credit would have been shocking. $30000 for a car with hard plastic interior?? No thanks.
I will keep my fully loaded and well equipped CUV ICE that cost me $27000 brand new.
Explain why you are trolling this page.
LOL. I thought Russian schools required better math skills.
Also, video comprehension fail too.
Very impressive….How fast can it DC fast-charge?
Maxes out at 70kW, not great, but not bad either.
It’s pretty efficient, so puts that 70kW to good use.
This will definitely kill Model 3 demand..
I’m sick and tired of Tesla’s shenanigans, so agreed here.
Or it could raise awareness about EVs in general and stimulate overall market demand. Could be a “rising tide lifts all boats” situation.
LMAO .AHa AHaHaHaha Ha * 🙂 * * 🙂 *
Wow, two serial Tesla bashers still left here. I guess they didn’t get the memo: TESLA WON. YOU LOST. GET OVER IT.
But in Breitbart land grouchy old dads are still winning bigly talking up a foreign automaker over a US automaker in another demonstration of rank hypocrisy!
I don’t think so. Different classes of cars.
It would have to be available first.
Because of the Kona’s 310 mile range, rapid acceleration and available AWD?
So the SR, Mr and not AWD versions of the Model 3 are doomed to fail ?
Ps : I don’t agree with “Your Dad” post.
Of course not. But it will drain some clients who don’t particularly want a sedan.
Bolt killer. It will compete directly with the Bolt, cutting into Bolt sales. It doesn’t matter if one is better in one small way or another vs. the other, they are now absolutely directly competing with each other in the sub-40K 200+ mile EV range sector that the Bolt used to have exclusively to itself before.
Just when the Bolt can’t afford to see their current Bolt sales lost to another competing car, as the Bolt follows the same market trajectory as the Volt.
Please no
I thought Bolt killer from headline, but not really. They’re pretty much the same price with Bolt having more rear passenger space. Kona has 10 miles extra range, Bolt is about 20% quicker. Personally, I’d take quicker over small bit in range.
The problem is that the Bolt can’t afford to split current Bolt sales with another competitor so similar.
What are they going to do? Throw MORE money on the hood with every sale in order to keep losing sales to the Kona? Bolt fans always brag about how much money GM throws on the hood to sell Bolts even when they didn’t have such a similar direct competitor. GM doesn’t have any more levers to pull to increase sales.
GM doesn’t have to pull any extra lever. Kona will be very limited which means not much room for negotiation. Bolt will be cheaper average transaction price even with half tax credit.
Lately The Volt was cutting into Bolt sales with GM showroom foot traffic. Now that they killed it (Volt) I expect Bolt sales will bump up a bit.
Reducing the number of sales opportunities will not help overall sales. It will lower overall sales.
Meanwhile, Hyundai/Kia is going to increase their total sales by following up the Kona with the Kia Niro.
https://www.kia.com/us/en/content/vehicles/upcoming-vehicles/2019-niro-ev
Cut into model 3 & Y too.
Not so much, unless/until Hyundai gets a competitive charging network to compete with Superchargers.
It’s called Electrify America in the US and IONITY (plus others) in Europe.
I expect GM to come up with some wacko reason to Kill the Bolt too.
If they killed the Bolt it would be because they have all the credits they need or because they’re going to release a better BEV.
GM will simply drop the price or add more options as standard. You can already find top tier versions of the Bolt with most options ticked listed for $32k before incentives.
Down vote all you want, but it’s ugly though.
Leaf wins fugly award hands down. no contest.
Old Leaf, yes, new Leaf doesn’t look so bad. Too bad it’s a turd under hood. For the real hideous, look for Prius Prime. That thing looks like it crawled out of some sewer.
For all practical purposes, it’s identical to the Bolt. Personal preference to brand or looks will have much more impact on buying decisions than a few miles of range or other minor features.
Great to see another entry in the market. Maybe it’ll bring enough attention to get more people interested in electric cars.
Yes. Right now, any meaningful increase in the diversity of EV offerings is a Very Good Thing. Too bad some other companies — yeah, I’m looking at you, Ford, Honda, and Toyota — haven’t joined the party.
Here come the Bolt “killer”
We had the Tesla “killers” now comes the ” Bolt Killers” and actually I think the Kona at this price will be a Prius “Killer” , now if only Kia can produce them in big numbers.
Prius has available AWD, making it more of a CUV than the Kona EV in my book. Prius has been doing a good job killing itself lately though, haven’t needed much help 😉
The Kona is my fav of all Hyundai, that is after the Kia Optima cousin, just about the sexiest midsize sedan ever made.
I am glad about this, at the same time sad to see the Detroit dinosaurs shuffling their boardroom fat cats with Big Oil and working to preserve the status quo while paving the demise on an entire auto industry.
Getting it on lease. Going to call Hyundai USA to put a deposit
Bolt is dead. GM is dead here in Ohio for their decision
Unless you work at a plant or know someone that works at the plant GM’s plan means little to the millions of people that live in Ohio and Michigan. It’s sad people are potentially losing their jobs but you should be complaining about why people are not buying cars. Accord and Camry sales are down as well.
Same here in Oshawa , the Union leader Jerry Diaz was just crying in the news some local dealers here in town in Oshawa itself have reported canceling deals of cars sold by GM dealers ,buyers scared therir jobs will be affected in the chain of local suppliers losing contracts, GM cutting its own throat.
The base model 3 is even less money @ $35.000 minus all the rebates.
Nope. It still says $46,000 without all the rebates.
And maybe it will come out some time before end of next year.
Where? How? Why so many thumb up’s? Tesla fanboys at work?
Sorry, it does not exist yet.
Base model 3 is even less money, since you can’t actually buy one, you spend $0.
Don’t get excited soon. Kona-EV is only a compliance crossover that will be sold in California alone. Its sales may hit a max of 100/month. The main reason they priced it lower to Bolt is just to show that they are selling lower priced vehicle with a higher range, but they are not interested in selling more units. This technique has been mastered by many automakers and Hyundai is just part of them.
Now the big question is if Kona is a crossover, then Bolt should also be a crossover since both these vehicles have similar dimensions/designs. Why GM is calling Bolt it a car. Calling it as crossover will sell slightly better.
Its worth waiting for $35,000 Model-3 than this type of compliance car.
“Only a compliance cross-over” “Not interested in selling more units”…
Meanwhile, Norway, New Zealand, etc, can’t get enough of these things and Hyundai is trying to add as much production as possible. Sometimes people forget about the world outside the US.
“Sometimes people forget about the world outside the US”
Only Americans forget.
The rest of us are very much aware of the global picture of things, and Kona EV seems to be in high demand in Europe and Korea.
Kona EV will be available for special order in all 50 States.
Which will largely limit sales as people will not get see one in person or test drive before buying and probably a long wait to get one.
Ford Focus EV is available for special order in all 50 states. We know how that’s working.
Maybe it didn’t work because it was a underwhelming car that nobody wanted.
Once the GM tax credit expires this will kill the BOLT ev.
They at GM better hope the Democratic House extends the tax credit for GM and Tesla, otherwise the BOLT ev is dead and Barra will discontinue their sole remaining EV for the states.
Supposedly they are coming out with plenty of EV’s, but I bet they’re just copying VW’s blather.
Bolt Will Be Dead Because it’a A POS … * 🙁 *
Right. Here we go again with a poster that never drove one.
No shortage of idiots here – I just got a negative vote since I mentioned on ‘5 things you need to know about the BOLT’ a useful regeneration fact that the author didn’t know! And of course, that POS comment that would embarrass any self-respecting 10 year old got 19 positive thumbs up and no negatives. That’s the proof.
Explain to me why we care about thumbs up and down? Does it get me discount at Denny’s restaurant?
Well, in 2019 GM will need about 22.5 thousand Bolt sales to meet their ZEV credit needs.
It goes up by about 7.5k per year. So, they have a bit of time.
But the US EV market will be getting tougher so they’ll have to do something.
GM will just drop the price of the Bolt or offer more options as standard. I have my doubts on how available the Kona is going to be in the US.
Well, at that price, people are going to be rushing to buy the Nexo instead.
You forgot the /s.
I’m conducting tests to see what proportion of people who bother to read comments sections have a sense of humor.
And still not a crossover or CUV. Great EV. But let’s not call a tulip a rose ok?
So much for a game changer.
Hyundai doesn’t get it either.
What the public wanted was a economy 250mile range EV around $25000.
For $30000 you can get a lot more car if you buy an ICE.
Savings in gas cost is only about $800 a year and it will take over 5 years to make up for the extra $5000 I spend (even with the saved cost from low maintenance).
Next game change to be please..
That car is eventually coming. But batteries are still too expensive for that.
Public already has 250 mile range EV around $25K post subsidy (or $23K in CA). It’s called Bolt. There won’t be much (or any) discount for Kona since it will be very limited, just like there was no discount for IoniqEV due to limited availability.
I like the Bolt’s infotainment screen soft and hard controls and indicators more then the Kona’s. The range difference isn’t significant.
I bet GM will electrify a Buick Enclave and compete with the Kona and soon!
But it’s only a compliance car sold in California and a few other western states so who cares?
Are you sure this is with the big battery? There is a small one too.
Volt not bolt
why did they have to mess up the front end? Awesome to see more EVs hitting the market.
In Belgium it starts at 45k€. Ridiculous, because at the right price it could have been a game changer. We’ll have to wait, yet again…
Until it’s available in Pennsylvania, it’s vaporware to me.
It’s a shame really, PA used to make electric vehicles a century ago. They need a startup to seed in the state, there is a lot of unused talent.