I can safely say that most NJ dealers had no trouble depleting their EV inventory. If customers were giving up, thatās because they couldnāt find the car they wanted, not because it was too expensive compared to Tesla.
Contrary to popular belief, the cars with the most egregious dealear markups (Kona EV Limited) actually sold out first. That was also true last year, except that the car that was being marked up last year was the Ioniq EV Limited. Those $92/month cars had nearly $3k in dealer markup (dealer pocketing most of the CHARGE UP money), and they flew off the shelves. Sure, an $11/month car or sub-$400 3-year cost would have been possible last year if the dealer gutted their markup. But it turns out, the dealers didnāt need to sell cars for $11/month when they couldnāt keep them in stock for $92/month.
Same thing with the Kona EV this year; the numbers are just bigger and the car is more premium. The inventory shortage made all cars more expensive, and more walk-ins chose EV. The dealers could have gutted the deals, and a few did, but the dealers that went low didnāt have enough inventory to go around for all the people that were willing to pay ~$400/mo for them.
Most people are looking for a fair monthly/DAS number when theyāre picking out their car. Theyāre not trying to maximize rebates or minimize dealer markup, theyāre just looking for a bottom-line number. The vocal minority will always come on LH and find something to nitpick at - even when the cars are cheaper than an iPhone payment. We had this last year on my 2020 thread, and weāll have this at any price. I could post $1/mo cars and someone would find a way to complain that they should get paid to take it because the dealer discount could be higher.
Pound for pound, Kona EV is still highly competitive with the ācheaperā Teslas and we definitely saw people vote with their wallets by spending Tesla money on Kona EVs this season. Whatās happening is the market perception of EVs is improving. Instead of dealers hearing āWhy would I lease this car when I could lease a gas car? This car canāt go anywhere. Iāll get stuck on the charger, give me a deal!ā theyāre starting to hear āWow, this is cheaper than a Tesla, has great range, has ventilated seats. Itās my dream to go electric. And itās cheaper than I thought.ā Market-based pricing responds in kind.
For those that didnāt get a Kona EV this year and still want one, donāt worry. Last year, the Kona EV got cheaper for the model year closeout without CHARGE UP NJ than it ever did with the state program running. HMF rebates on this car are only $12,500, we saw ~$16k last year. So thereās plenty of hope that Hyundai rebates will bridge the gap!
It doesnāt matter how your discount breaks down (dealer/state/manufacturer) as long as youāre getting a good bottom-dollar price! Plenty of opportunities are still to come for good prices on EV Hyundai leases in our region.
Plus, if you get a great deal on a Kona EV when CHARGE UP isnāt running, you arenāt restricted on not flipping it for 3 years. Iām sitting in a very favorable equity position in my Kona EV Ultimate that I leased a few months ago 
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Prices are updated for September. Several models got cheaper, a few ran out of 2021s and thus 2022s are more expensive. Santa Cruz small pickup truck is now available. See the top for prices!
