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.

[drewbyh]

It's really ugly but it's electric so that's good. Like really ugly. Fugly in fact.

[Harlan879]

Woah! No grill! I wonder how much of an aerodynamic improvement that gives?

[ikramerica--2008]

Ask VW with the early 90's Passat. It just sucked air in through the lower air dam and the gaps around the VW emblem. People did not respond positively to the look.

[LindseyAngell34]

With the Problems in CHINA, WHY the hell are we still buying stuff from them? Why Support a country that is Communist and STILL has inhumane acts going on against their own people...Don't even get me started on Tibet and... CHINA is still on N. Koreas side with the Nukes...c'mon USA GET REAL!!! WAKE UP AND SMELL THE STENCH OF COMMUNISM, SOCIALISM, and the SELLOUT OF the UNITED STATES of AMERICA...

[tech_crazy]

When it comes to money, costs and profits, everyone conveniently forgets/ignores everything else. Even the US government is no exception to this.

[monkeyfun14]

McCarthy is that you?

[W5MDP]

How much will it cost to replace the batteries? I am at 110,00 miles on my F-150. What would I have just spent to cross the 100,000 mile mark if the batteries died?

[bjvjmv]

Needs to be cheaper. Isn't the new Tesla sedan going to go for about this price? I would love to buy an electric car but 35k is to costly for the common man. If they get it down to 20k, I'll start looking seriously. Hopefully the Better Place plan works and reduces the price further.

[macflash411]

The new Tesla Model S is going to cost $57,000+ or $49,900 with the tax break. Don't really think you can a compare $37,500 car to a $50,000 car.

[Hernys]

True, the Tesla is 10K more expensive, but it has much better range, it seats seven, has much better looks and performance is on a different level completely. And they've been doing electric cars for two years now, so they will have more experience and probably better quality and reliability by then. If that's not worth a 10K difference, I don't know what it is.

[ausernamenoonehaschosen]

It's different drewbyh, different.

[yacahuma]

I am sorry for this guy, but the new tesla model s for 50K is so much much much better. And It looks awesome.

[tehrani625]

at 40K this thing better have leather, and a 0 to 60 better then yes. But it looks like the corolla of the electric car world, and its slower then a real corolla...
Oh, and whats the charge time from a 110v plug?

[Hernys]

Yes, it can charge out of a standard plug. I would counter your point siwh this: at 40K a Mustang better is completely silent, has a 100mpg efficiency, has no fluids or sensitive moving parts, needs no maintenance and has zero pollution. Oh, it doesn't? Then you can't even compare it to this car.

[Grigsby_51]

More overall ghg with an electric car. The greenies might push this way but it's a poor answer if you want to reduce ghg. Far better answer is hydrogen.

[zyxxy]

And where does the hydrogen come from today? By stripping it off of natural gas, releasing the Carbon into the atmosphere. There is no advantage to hydrogen today. None. And a bunch of negatives. Fill up your hydrogen tank then go on vacation for two weeks. Guess how much hydrogen is left when you get home?

tehrani625: Greenies don't want dead cows for seats! Better they be made from unbleached woven hemp!

[ewelch]

Too many thing are already expensive here in California. A $35,000 car does not help. We need a $15,000 car. Or when gas gets to $4/gal again, maybe $20,000. Then it will actually help, rather than just assuage yuppie angst amongst the rich.

[samkass]

I'd say go make a delisted Dodge dealer a super-lowball offer on a small domestic sedan and give the $30K you'll save to a good cause.

[jmfb_k7]

Darn, you still have to charge it from your home.

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.

[brewster_13]

Gas: $.17*100000=$17,000.00 Operating costs for 100,000 miles
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...

[Grigsby_51]

Buy a moped to pass gas stations and have overall lower cost.

[SactoGuy018]

Of course, what's even more interesting is that Ford has openly said they will offer an all-battery version of the next-generation Focus compact probably by 2012. And given Ford's volume buying power, the premium for an all-electric Focus could be no more than US$8,000 per car in early production, dropping to maybe US$5,000 as volume builds up.

[ketanc]

You knpw this for sure?
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.

[jarhead1857]

This needs to be broken down much simpler:
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?

[Hernys]

No, the government is not subsidizing you for $10K.
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.

[ikramerica--2008]

No one charges you this $10k when you buy a non-electric car. You are using false reasoning to justify the government, a government in MASSIVE debt (both the USA and CA), giving away money it does not have, to help a Chinese company sell you car.

[Jeffery_Wright]

No mention of heating or A/C... how much does using them reduce the range? Does this have regenerative braking and steering? Does the paint convert solar power to electricity? Too expensive for the limitations, but not a bad commuter. I'll offer $17,000.

[abpc1]

$40K for that monstrosity? Spend $10K more and ride a Ferrari-esque sedan (Tesla S) and go (claimed) 300 miles between charges. Folks willing to fork over $40K want style/looks not just utility. Come on Coda... .

[ikramerica--2008]

The Tesla-S should have the same government give away incentives, right?

[HeavyJim]

All you ever read for the most part from posters is how great electrics are and cannot wait for one. Price keeps coming down and soon these people will have to either stop whining and actually buy or show their true colors.

[James Anderson Merritt]

This thing is a LOT less ugly than the converted xB (original model) that AC Propulsion does. It doesn't seem to have quite the performance or range that car, but neither is it as wimpy as the Subaru Stella EV mentioned elsewhere. I still like the Tesla-S much better -- the price differential would have to be $20K or more before I would lean away from the S and toward the Coda. But this definitely seems a step in the right direction. Now, if only we can get these things manufactured in the US -- another plus for Tesla, if they carry out their announced plan.

[rickhigginshtbr]

That thing looks dead on to a Hyundai Elantra from 7 years ago, minus the front. But yea, $25K MAX on that with those specs, they gotta do better.

[HowellHaus]

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.

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...?