One of the chronic factors in accounting for low sales volumes for full battery electric vehicles in Canada has been lack of available inventory.
If you were to ask many automotive dealers, they’ll tell you that they are continuing to see an increase in requests for electric models by people visiting their showrooms. But without any inventory available or even a demo model to offer a test drive in, converting interest into purchases has been a challenge.
It seems Hyundai Canada is one automaker that has finally decided to improve this long-held frustration of many BEV enthusiasts.
Hyundai Kona EV
For the first time since its introduction to the Canadian market in December of 2018, the Kona electric will be sold without a waitlist. A total of 7,900 Kona electrics will be imported into Canada in the 2020 calendar year, up from 2,600 in 2019.
The fully-electrified version of the Kona has proven to be a popular option for those looking to buy an EV. With a real world range of 415 kilometres, the Kona EV has proven to be a vehicle that can easily meet the daily demands of the vast majority of Canadians. But the demand easily outweighed available supply, which has forced Hyundai to re-tool its factories and adjust production to meet demand.
“In the first month of sales, we knew the global supply simply wouldn’t be enough,” said Ken Maisonville, Director of Sales at Hyundai Auto Canada. “We have increased our supply every year but still weren’t able to catch up with the demand.”
In March 2020, Hyundai Motor Company started producing European-market Kona electrics at its factory in the Czech Republic, freeing up Korean production for the North American market. “This is when we saw a shift in available product for Canada,” said Maisonville. “We are much better positioned moving forward.”
This brings on a significant shift for dealers and Canadian customers, as vehicles will be available on dealer lots for new and interested customers to test drive and be available for immediate delivery.
Now if other automakers can follow Hyundai’s lead, we should soon after be able to put to bed the misguided belief by some that there simply isn’t enough interest in BEVs to make them viable long-term.
Remember – if you build them, people will come.
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