2024 loyalty and military bonus removal

Did you ask if there would be any price reductions in 2024?

 

Well, I have heard (on the other forum) dealers in the US are giving huge discounts now on the I6, probably others as well. That could mean price reductions down the road.

Is there plenty of stock now there with I6s. There was none until a couple months ago, and now lots here. My dealer says that sales have really slowed here, since the higher interest rates. His sales people were first being hit by no inventory available (few allocations), and now customer demand has dried up. At the least you should get a smoking deal.

 

Yeah, I heard they now have an Ultimate RWD. My AWD in ECO uses only the rear motor most of the time, and you get only that power when you tromp it. But it is still plenty to get ahead of the crowd at a red light. The main diff to get that extra range is 225 wide tires with the 18s vs 245s with my 20s. The cost is both extra drag and more rolling resistance.

 

But it is the fast charging that is the biggest diff with the 2024 Kona. 10-80% in 18 minutes is sweet.

 

I wish I could believe that market forces are driving prices down but I think both dealers and manufacturers got a taste for the sweet, sweet profits that "scarcity" has brought and they are going to do everything they can to maintain it.

Also, the differences between the Canadian and US markets right now (if they are to be believed) make any discussion about "market forces" a bit of a joke. BC, Quebec and Ontario are as different as California and Idaho. One area's surplus is another's scarcity. And, of course, there's been just a huge upsurge of anti-EV media lately too. It's a mess that's going to take years to sort out. And except for a couple of players like Hyundai/Kia and Tesla I don't think that mainstream EV manufacturers are really trying very hard to influence markets in a way that benefits EVs.

* I'm excluding Chinese companies because they're a non-factor in North America right now.

 

You're right about the anti-EV FUD in the media, and the internet. We're seeing it here, too. Some of my non-EV owner friends keep sending me the crap, and am getting tired debunking it all the time. Unfortunately the youtubers make money off of sensational headline clicks, as do the mainstream media with their advertisers.

But I assume you have noticed the CAD is approaching .76 USD now. And we don't even have high oil prices that usually drive that. That should help our buying power here.

 

They are only overpriced right now because there have been so few failures and writeoffs on these new cars to warrant a repair and refurbishing plant in NA (unlike the older brands like Tesla). But from what I have learned is that the I5/I6 battery packs have been designed to so that modules and even individual cells can be replaced. We have an 8 year warranty and I have 5 years of replacement insurance (a must for this car IMO) on both of our EVs. So I am not worried. Batteries for these cars should be a lot cheaper in 8 years.

I read somewhere that 30% of the cost of a new EV is the battery.

 

How did you procure "5 years of replacement insurance"?

 

From various insurance companies. They compete with each for best price and coverage. I have replacement insurance for all my new cars in the last 20 years, usually only 3 years. But this time decided to go 5 years, because of the potential for high depreciation. For my I6 it cost me $2177 total, OEM only parts, and they cover all accidents, too, and our ICBC (our govt insurance) deductible. So I took the $500 deductible, to save bucks there, too. Most people I know here do that these days. And oh, if you sell you car before, they give you back the unused years portions.

 

Oh! I have that as a rider on my policy too - for 3 years. I thought you had found BATTERY replacement insurance specifically.

 

Haha, no, don't think you can get that... In the long past, I used to get it as a rider, which got progressively more expensive every year, and not worth carrying it over 3 years. But now the private insurers offer it as separate policy, and because they cover your $500 deductible, your primary insurance is cheaper, too. Not sure how exactly it works in Ontario, you are all private there. But here, you are forced to buy the basic from ICBC and then can go 3rd party on other stuff.