Coda unveils 'practical' all-electric sedan
Updated at 12:45 a.m. PDT with comments from Coda Automotive conference call.
You could call electric car company Coda Automotive the anti-Tesla.
The company, formed by fleet vehicle provider Miles Electric, on Wednesday unveiled the Coda, a plain-looking electric car that's designed for everyday use.
The highway-capable four-door sedan can go between 90 and 120 miles on its lithium ion battery pack. It will be available to consumers in California in the fall of 2010 at a price of $45,000. The cost can be offset by about $10,000 from a federal tax credit and state incentives, the company said.
The Coda: not necessarily a head turner, but meant to be practical.
(Credit: Coda Automotive)Coda is marketing the car as a way to kick the oil habit without having to buy a racy Tesla Roadster for $100,000. "It's a practical revolution for real drivers who need reliable transportation," said Coda Automotive CEO Kevin Czinger in a statement.
The company also announced that it has created a joint venture with Chinese cell manufacturer Tianjin Lishen Battery, which is 60 percent owner, to make batteries for cars and utility power storage. That long-term agreement will allow Coda to have sufficient battery supply, Czinger said.
State-owned Chinese company Hafei is Coda Automotive's chassis manufacturing partner. Coda Automotive designs and markets the cars.
Rather than build a dealer network, Coda Automotive plans to sell cars directly to consumers via its Web site. It plans to establish a partnership so that consumers will be able to test-drive cars in major markets in California, Czinger said during a conference call on Wednesday.
Coda Automotive expects to sell 2,700 electric sedans in 2010 and then explore selling to other markets outside California in 2011, Czinger said. The limiting factor in terms of car volumes is the availability of batteries, he said. Its manufacturing partner will be capable of producing 20,000 battery packs a year in 2011.
The Coda sedan's batteries, able to store 33.8 kilowatt-hours, can be charged from a standard 110-volt U.S. electric outlet. Charge time with a 220-volt outlet is less than six hours.
The cost of owning the electric car will be about $2,000 less per year than a gasoline car because there are fewer moving parts and it doesn't require oil changes. It will cost about three cents a mile to run a Coda sedan, while a gasoline car that gets 20 miles per gallon costs more like 17 cents a mile, according to the company.
The top speed for the Coda is 80 miles per hour and it will accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in under 11 seconds.
Although the Coda isn't necessarily flashy, it will have the amenities that many new cars have including Bluetooth connectivity, a navigation system, iPod dock, and satellite radio. It should be available for test drives by the end of this year.
The company expects the Coda to meet the highest safety ratings with four or five-Star NCAP crash rating. It will be warrantied for three years and the battery is guaranteed for eight years or 100,000 miles.
During the conference call, Czinger said that Coda Automotive and another U.S. company have applied for a grant in April with the Department of Energy's $2 billion program to promote domestic battery manufacturing.
Martin LaMonica is a senior writer for CNET's Green Tech blog. He started at CNET News in 2002, covering IT and Web development. Before that, he was executive editor at IT publication InfoWorld. E-mail Martin. 
Oh, and whats the charge time from a 110v plug?
tehrani625: Greenies don't want dead cows for seats! Better they be made from unbleached woven hemp!
Sorry, but I'm not going to wait 6 hours for my car to refill (and I'm not going to run a 220 outlet to my garage either).
I will buy one of these tomorrow if they can licence a deal through BP or Shell and have them put recharging stations at each location that will do it in 3-5 minutes (and if the battery can't support that, they need a new technology). Oh yeah, and the charging interface has to use an ISO certified standard, so that if I decide the car is a peice of junk, I can buy a different one and still go to the same recharging stations.
Coda: $.03*100000= $3,000.00 Operating costs for 100,000 miles
$14,000 lower operating costs over the life of the batteries.
6-12 hours to charge the car, charge it overnight. No, you can't do any quick charging, but for people who travel 100 miles per day or less, with a little forethought, no problem. Also the chances are that this wouldn't be your only car. Longer trips take the gas powered car, around town and shorter trips the electric car.
I would rather be passing all gas stations at $20 to $40 per fill up and plug my car in to fill up for a buck or two overnight when I get home. But then again, I'm really waitingfor the Aptera...
Or is it just wishfull thinking?
If they can get the premium down by 2012 then great but there first all electric car would probably cost more than $8k extra. Also 100K miles life is too short if replacement costs are high. Possibly a leasing and maintenance scheme might work.
All electirc car at $45,000 unless the government subsidizes you for $10,000. It will drive 100 miles every 6 hours.
Does it really save money though? How much does it cost to charge? A prius will drive 100 miles for... 3 bucks? Is this realistic?
It is simply NOT charging the 10K they would charge you for a polluting car that requires fuel that's mostly imported from countries that are otherwise foes of the US.
Any time you use electricity instead od an inefficient IC engine to move a car, you are saving money and pollution. It's that simple.
- by HowellHaus June 5, 2009 1:04 PM PDT
- Chinese cars. Let's fill our driveways with Chinese cars. Built with abusive environmental and work-ethic standards. Built with energy from earth-choking coal-fired power plants. Built with plans of world domination. I am hopeful that this company and its factory-direct marketing plan are successful - at failing greatly.
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Showing 1 of 2 pages (37 Comments)The last thing the US of A needs is a Chinese car. We've already put ourselves into a predictable danger by buying the majority of our 'cheap goods' from them - now we're going to buy their 'durable goods' as well ?
The first thing we need is a truly innovative, electric-biodiesel hybrid vehicle chassis that's capable of moving everything from one person to a busload or truckload. Until battery technology has overcome the weight penalties, we will still be moving ourselves with efficiency-robbing weight. Regardless, let's make sure it's American efficiency-robbing weight.
It makes no sense for us to keep exporting jobs to other countries, most of all, our transportation products. America has a legacy to maintain and improve in the transportation sector. I'd much rather purchase a Chevy Volt, whether it's real or vapor.
My bigger question is: Where's the easy-to-merge with high-speed rail design we really need...? Who's working on that one...?