Coda Electric Sedan Zooms Into California

Name: Coda

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Big Idea: The new, all-electric car company is offering potential owners (in California only) to design and reserve their own electric vehicle for only $99.
Why It’s Working: Focused on reducing vehicle emissions while also providing a wallet-friendly and eco-friendly option for consumers, Coda aims to make a major splash in the consumer electric vehicle industry — and the automotive industry at large.

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Ladies and gentlemen, charge your engines. Consumer car industry newcomer Coda Automotive is making electric car ownership much more affordable.
Priced at $37,000 (not including federal incentives), the four-seat Coda sedan contains a lithium-ion battery and an active thermal management system that ensures the battery’s temperatures are regulated inside the vehicle for maximum use. Alloy wheels and an eco-friendly interior come standard in the vehicle, but you can also upgrade to leather seating and a premium audio system. You can also chose the color of your Coda, which comes in white, black, gray, silver, dark blue or red.
According to the company, the Coda sedan can travel 125 miles on one full charge of its 31kWh battery pack. The EPA has a more conservative (but still impressive) estimate of 88 miles on one full charge. Anecdotal evidence has also shown that the car can travel even further on a single charge, depending on how fast the driver is going and the nature of the roadway. However, there’s an extra cost of installing a proper charging station, which is not included in the vehicle price.
“What sets Coda apart is that we’re a 100% all-electric company dedicated to developing cost-effective and efficient EVs and energy storage systems,” says Thomas Hausch, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Coda. “Since day one, we’ve focused on developing a safe, affordable battery system to support the deployment of EVs and renewable energy globally.”
Coda is based in Los Angeles, with an assembly plant in Benicia, Calif. As for the nuts and bolts, the body of the Coda sedan is purchased from Great Wall Motors, the fastest growing car manufacturer in China. But the auto company leaves the battery to its team of engineers, who develop and design the battery to fit performance goals. The battery is assembled by Lishen Coda Energy Systems — a joint-venture between CODA and China-based lithium-ion cell manufacturer Lishen.
Coda Automotive began as Miles Electric Vehicles, founded by Miles Rubin in 2007. Rubin’s initial idea was to create a clean-technology vehicle and lower our dependence on fossil fuels while cleaning up the environment. The company made small electric vehicles universities and other institutions before branching off to become Coda. The idea, says a company spokesperson, was to develop an EV around an already existing body and modify the car to match the market’s needs.
The auto company is working with existing dealerships to sell the sedan. If you want to drive it off a lot, there are a handful of showrooms in California, but eventually there will be a major roll-out to other states. There are also five “experience centers” in California where you can test drive the car and learn about EVs — but you can’t buy one there. For now, the best bet is to place an order for a customized vehicle on the manufacturer’s website at a paltry cost of $99.
There is also a new Coda model on the horizon, with a slightly beefier battery pack. Think of it like a V4 versus a V6 engine — the larger battery, when fully charged, should last up to 150 miles. This Coda starts at around $39,900 and will be available to consumers in the coming months.
A spokesperson for Coda won’t say how many vehicles have been sold so far, but said the company would be releasing that information in the future.