The Kia Niro EV is dead, long live the Kia e-Niro

*sigh*

I'm interested in the Niro EV, and saw one (Car & Driver) report from the LA Auto Show mentioning a release date of February, along with the thought that release would initially be in the CARB states, with others to follow (when?). I'm not in a CARB state, but am next to Maryland. I contacted a dealer there, and they were (not surprisingly!) absolutely clueless, stating that it was only a concept, and would not be available until 2020, and maybe not in the USA then. (Confused with the Soul EV?) I resisted the urge to argue/convince her otherwise, and pleasantly thanked her for the (non-)info.

That report also stated that they would start at $38K+. I wonder how much more the top-trim would be . . .

Any advice on how to get a price lower than MSRP on a pre-order??

TIA!