I sure haven't seen any ads for it in any venue -- TV, print, online, whatever. Has anyone? Seems like this little vehicle is a pretty good value and deserves some promotion, and I'm not sure if it's getting it.
Fairly sure I saw one on TV in B.C. last week. I PVR everything and fast-forward commercials so I can’t say for certain.
Although I see TV ads for the ICE and hybrid versions here in New Zealand, the importer told me a few weeks ago that they are unsure if they will sell the EV version. Our new anti-EV government dropped all related subsidies leaving importers holding the bag with excess inventory. Hyundai seem to be in a bit of a panic and is having a sale on all their EVs starting tomorrow. From media:
No bias here. "Anti-EV" or Anti-EV subsidy? A 4-day sale does not seem like a "panic" to me, just marketing, automotive sales in general have flattened a bit over the last year, as the pent up demand from the Covid fiasco quells. If the product has merit, it should not need a subsidy. I get it though, the unwashed masses should probably not be allowed to buy a car anyway.
Interesting that the folks saying they've seen Kona EV ads all seem to be from Canada. Maybe the marketing plans are different there -- or maybe I'm just not watching the right TV channels.
I seriously don't get this either. Optimal climate for an EV is going to tend to the warm side. Optimal usage is daily short to mid range drives, ... Like on an island like Hawaii for example. Arizona is amazing, cheap power from Nuclear, warm climate, no, no, lets market it up in the frozen tundra where power is expensive. I'm like huh? All those cold New England states have all the EV subsidies, and expensive electricity. I just can't wrap my head around it, they create subsidies for areas where an EV is decidedly sub-optimal, and the people who live there are affluent and could afford it without the subsidy.
FWIW, EVs now make up 15% of new vehicle sales here in Hawaii, well ahead of the national average. And yes, operating conditions are ideal here. When I moved here, my energy use went from 4.6 miles per Kwh in San Francisco to 5.5 here. Our charging infrastructure needs work, but that's in the pipeline.
