The tsunami of electric cars in Europe to include more Kona

This is supposed to be the year of the Big Bang in European EV sales. With it, a new era for Kona Electric.

Inside and outside EU (Eg UK, Norway) we’re promised new models and expanded availability of electric vehicles including new ones from BMW (MINI), VW, Honda, many others. None of these has visibly arrived yet, although the roll-out has started and will certainly accelerate as Europe’s goverments incentivise EVs and punish ICE manufacturing. The electric surge is most visible in Holland, where the Kona Electric is suddenly the best selling EV this year, as Hyundai is finally getting to grips with demand, although so far only in one market. There are still long waiting lists elsewhere in Europe.

Here in France, where electricity is mostly nuclear, the Kona can be topped up at home for 5 Euro.

The empirical evidence for the EV boom: I see electric cars every day now, which I didn’t a year ago.

Even though nearest Tesla store is in Aix, on the other side of the Rhone, they include Model S, X and recently several Model 3s, plus Leaf, i3, iON, one Audi (zero Jaguars), and of course overwhelmingly Zoë. I have seen only one other Zoe Electric in the wild in France. Hyundai suppled 41, in all of France, in December.

The Kona Electric was recently advertised on TV, and near-zero supply is about to be improved with production at the Hyundai plant in Czech Republic, apparently using LG cells made in Poland. There is now small ‘used’ market for the car on European web sites.

We do not have firm numbers yet on production which is bound to be battery constrained. But the Kona Electric I believe is headed towards a much more prominent (and deserved) prominence in Europe. Finally.

Beating even the Model 3 in Holland https://ev-sales.blogspot.com/2019/03/netherlands-february-2019.html shows what could be possible for this vehicle, if Hyundai can build them.

 

Yes you’re right but the picture is changing. I think Holland definitely distorted in 2019 by tax changes. But this year I suspect the trend will continue.

 

Correction: I meant to say, I have seen only one Kona in the wild. There are loads of Zoës.

 

I think drivers will be forced to go electric whether they like it or not.

 

It makes Total sense in France with carbon neutral (mainly nuclear) energy. Good everywhere for cleaner urban air. Burning coal to generate electrons for cars is not optimal.

 

As we know, no source of energy is without cost...