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 without a special order.
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 federal 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.”
Cars.com reported in October that this means the Kona EV will only be sold in 10 states. Jalopnik asked Hyundai for comment why sales are so limited in the U.S., and heard back soon after publishing this story—while the press release only talked about “availability” in those states, a Hyundai spokesperson said it’ll be available in other states by special order through dealerships.
If you do happen to be in one of the Kona EV’s chosen states or choose to special order it, 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, and 20 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-HP Tesla Model 3 Long Range, which starts at $41,200 after the credit and thoroughly beats the Kona in power-to-weight figures.
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 handfuls of states the vehicle will be sold regularly in.
This story has been updated with information from a Hyundai spokesperson, who said customers can special order the Kona EV through dealerships.