The 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric came onto the car scene this year, boldly lacking even a semblance of a grille and boasting an impressive 258 miles of range. Hyundai announced Friday that the base Kona will start under $30,000 after U.S. tax credits, which is remarkably reasonable. But don’t start saving up just yet—it won’t be available in every state.
Hyundai only announced the base price on the electric 2019 Kona, saying in a press release that it’ll start at $36,450 before a $1,045 delivery charge. With the EV tax credit of up to $7,500, it comes in at $29,995, which is not bad at all for 258 miles of estimated range.
The issue for people who want the car in the U.S. is its availability.
Hyundai gave Kona EV’s limited availability a short mention in the press release, saying the vehicle will initially be for sale in California around the beginning of 2019 before moving into states that focus on zero-emissions vehicles “in the western and northeastern regions of the U.S. market.”
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Cars.com reported in October that this means the Kona EV will only be sold in 10 states. Jalopnik has asked Hyundai to confirm that number and for comment on why sales are so limited in America, and we’ll update this story if we hear back.
If you do happen to be in one of the Kona EV’s chosen states, though, its rated mileage and its base price are competitive in the EV market. The crossover’s estimated 258 miles of electric range allow it to go 108 miles further than the 2019 Nissan Leaf, which starts at $22,490 with the federal tax credit, and20 miles further than the 2019 Chevrolet Bolt, which starts at $29,995 with the tax credit and destination charges—the same price as the base electric Kona.
Range on the Kona EV also comes in at 52 miles less than the all-wheel-drive, 271-HPTesla Model 3 Long Range, which starts at $41,200 after the credit and thoroughly beats the Kona in power-to-weight figures.
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But hey, less than $30,000 for the Kona with the federal credit is a decent deal for a fully electric vehicle with the cargo space of a crossover and good range. The hard part about all of this is going to be getting used to that grille-less face it has—at least, for the people in the handful of states the vehicle will be sold in.
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