Nowhere in that article is it stated this is a compliance car. Because it isn't. Hyundai/KIA has no strong need or desire for a compliance car in the first place as they don't rely on light trucks and SUV almost exclusively like the US Big Three do. This is a car designed to sell in volume. If it weren't, they would NOT be releasing the eNiro and Soul EV along side. Do your research. The ZEV-first US sales is a no-brainer. They're going to ramp up once KDM is saturated. Lots of battery production in Korea. Car expensive to ship. If not, just go to CA to buy the car. With DCQC, long ranges, and the PlugShare app, it would be an easy (and fun) road trip back home to MN. I'd bet money you could get one of these in your hands before the illusive, stripped down TM3 short range if you made an effort.
From the article:
“It may take some time for all 50 states to get the Kona Electric, though. To start, Hyundai will limit the car's rollout to ZEV states (states with zero-emission-vehicle requirements), because high demand will keep its Korean-based supply on the low side. Over time, Hyundai hopes to expand the car's availability to non-ZEV states, but there's no estimate for how long that'll take.”
So Hyundai “hopes” to expand the car’s availability to non-ZEV states?
This article from November says they’re producing 5,000/month; meanwhile Tesla Model 3 is already producing 5,000/week and ramping up.
https://electrek.co/2018/11/21/hyundai- ... tion-ramp/