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Coda Automotive Aims For Perfect Sales Cadence To End 2010

 
1,422 views Aug 20, 2010
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2011 Coda Sedan prototype - side

2011 Coda Sedan prototype - side

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 The end of 2010 is seen by many in the automotive industry as the first hurdle for many budding electric car companies. By the end of 2010 both Chevrolet and Nissan will have plug in vehicles on the market, both at prices that will outcompete much of the competition.

For the smaller automakers specialising in electric vehicles, beating much larger companies on price is unlikely. The only option then is to win the race to market.

But are such companies really fighting on equal ground? Or are they delusional?

Enter Coda Automotive. Until recently, the Southern California-based startup appeared to have very little to show for its promises to bring a highway capable EV to market in 2010.  But recently, the company has started to produce more information about its all-electric 2011 Coda Sedan - a car it claims to bring to market by the end of this year.

Talking to Greg Migliore from AutoWeek.com, Coda's senior vice-president of sales and distribution Mike Jackson eagerly shared Coda's secret weapon in the electric car sales wars.

Coda Automotive CEO Kevin Czinger

Coda Automotive CEO Kevin Czinger

Enlarge Photo
According to Jackson, a former General Motors marketing executive, the secret to the $40,000 2011 Coda Sedan doesn't lie in a large range. It lies in complex thermal management.

The Lithium-Ion battery packs used in some electric cars are notoriously susceptible to heat variation. Packs which are too hot or too cold under-perform and in some cases, reduce pack life.

When the Coda Sedan's battery pack is below optimum operating temperature, heating elements warm the pack. When it is too hot, the pack is cooled to optimum temperature.  This thermal management system ensures that the car's 33.8 killowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack performs at peak efficiency.

And according to Jackson, it's this management system which gives the 2011 Coda Sedan a competitive edge.

"When we talk about 120 mile range, we've got a proprietary thermal management system, that wether you're in Northern Minnesota or you're in Palm Springs, California - independent of the environmental conditions - that range is going to be very dependable and consistent"

The lack of thermal management in the 2011 Nissan Leaf recently attracted criticism from larger-than-life CEO of Tesla Motors, Elon Musk.

So, does the 2011 Coda Sedan offer any more unique selling points? When asked, Jackson cited the car's ample luggage space and five seats. Hardly unusual in the latest range of electric cars, we feel. Admittedly, the car's built-in 6.6 killowat charger is worth a mention, eliminating the need for external chargers and allowing the Coda Sedan to charge from any 120V or 240V outlet.

2011 Coda Sedan prototype - under the hood

2011 Coda Sedan prototype - under the hood

Enlarge Photo
What we find interesting is the way the car will be sold. Unlike the 2011 Nissan Leaf and 2011 Chevrolet Volt, which will be sold in dealerships throughout the U.S., the Coda Sedan will be sold primarily online.  While select locations will have cars  available for customers to view, the order process will still take place online, eliminating conventional dealers.

With a purchase price estimated at $45,000 before federal tax credits are applied, the Coda Sedan is hardly cheap.

While it does offer an alternative full-size, highway capable EV to the marketplace, we're still dubious that the company can make good on its promise to be selling vehicles by the end of 2010. For a start, very few test-drives have been offered and we have yet to hear anything about federal crash test results.

One thing is clear though: With the larger automakers now all keen to peddle their own electric vehicles, Coda's 2011 Sedan will need to be an amazing symphony of automotive engineering in order to beat the Nissan and GM in sales and reliability.

[Autoweek.com]





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Comments (12)

  1. By James Posted: 8/20/2010 3:01pm PDT

    Safety - safety will be another obstacle for Coda. Family's want a 4 door for their children's car seats in the back. I can easly convince the wife on nissans proven safety record and advancements that Nissan will be putting into the LEAF.
     
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  2. By ev enthusiast Posted: 8/20/2010 4:10pm PDT

    i have been awaiting the msrp. has $45,000 been announced ?
    i actually think that the small car companies need to be cheaper in price than the big ones.
    the coda is a midsize sedan, but at 45 - i would think that was not cheaper than the leaf nor the volt.
    in other words, if nissan or gm were to produce an ev comparable to the coda, i dont think nissan's price would be higher. gm maybe a bit, but not a lot.
    i was hoping that the coda would come in with a msrp of about 35, making it then quite a bit cheaper than the much smaller leaf.
    it is supposed to have some 1000 vehicles sold in the fall, but i also doubt this.
    i check the site every once in awhile, and i have not seen a firm announcement on price or delivery date.
    and it is already mid-august.
    i am less concerned with the safety issues, cuz i think it will turn out to be a better quality car than either the leaf or the volt.
    in the past, small car companies have had better quality/price ratios than the bigger guys.
     
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  3. By Noel Park Posted: 8/21/2010 12:34pm PDT

    Coda? LOL. DOA, IMHO.
     
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  4. By ev enthusiast Posted: 8/21/2010 5:44pm PDT

    hi noel,
    how come ? they seem to me to be the best of all the less well-known companies. i have been following them for a couple years, even before it was apparent that evs were finally gonna arrive.
     
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  5. By Paul C from Austin Posted: 8/22/2010 11:30am PDT

    Sadly, once the big Automakers got back into the EV market, it bacame the death-knell for smaller companies, unless they could have come to market before now- only Tesla has done that, and they have reaped the benefits of that in Federal Loans and Name Recognition. It's too bad- more companies can bring competition and innovation to the market. But for companies like Coda, battery-management notwithstanding (which GM's Volt matches anyway), their windows of opportunity is closing fast- there are only going to be so many buyers of this first, expensive generation of EVs, and their last remaining hope is to capture some of that group before Nissan and GM (and next year Ford and others) do. Of course, never say never, but without being first to market, Coda has a long, steep, uphill climb- much like an EV trying to go up Pike's Peak without a range extender;-)
     
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  6. By ev enthusiast Posted: 8/22/2010 5:58pm PDT

    i still think coda will do well. they are doing things completely differently from the big guys. i was hoping they would make it to market first, but their car is not in competition with the leaf or the volt (even if it was fully electric). it is a mid-size car.
    their manufacture cycle and sales cycle is much less expensive than the typical big guys.
    but perhaps most importantly, is that they are way deep into the battery part of the industry. hopefully they will have their permits approved for the plant in ohio.
    and they are building ties with china. many people on this site mistakenly believe that is bad, like somehow it will hurt the american economy.
    it is a big win-win for both countries.
    i suspect coda is battling 2 issues, at the moment. 1) trying to be the first on the market. 2) more importantly, making sure that they dont have any big bugs in their design. they cant afford to mess up like gm has, does, and will again. because as was pointed out, they have no track record, yet.
    but just look at what hyundai has done. they went from putting out cheap cars to possibly having the best price/quality ratio in the business.
    if i was a betting person, i would put all my chips on coda, as opposed to tesla. i see tesla only going downhill. i think they are attempting to steal as much as they can, while their name is still good.
     
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  7. By  ev enthusiast Posted: 8/22/2010 10:50pm PDT

    Coda Automotive Chooses Columbus, Ohio for Battery Plant - click on my name for article
     
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  8. By  ev enthusiast Posted: 8/22/2010 10:54pm PDT

    Coda Automotive Shines at the EV Consumer Adoption Summit - click on my name for article
     
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  9. By  ev enthusiast Posted: 8/23/2010 10:29am PDT

    Coda Automotive’s Electric Vehicle Has An Uphill Climb Ahead - click on my name for article.
    one thing i disagree with is cost of gas. i think we will see a lower cost, simply because less and less people will be demanding it.
    however, i dont think that will make any difference once the ev ball gets rolling.
    people dont want to be completely controlled by a commodity like they have been, and surely would be again, if it werent for evs.
     
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  10. By  ev enthusiast Posted: 8/23/2010 10:37am PDT

    The Coda EV’s $24 Million Investors include Clinton/Bush Officials - click on my name for article.
    the main thing is that we need to get evs out on the road, so that people can see what they are getting.
    right now, the majority of the population has no idea about what will be happening within the car industry, and still think of electric vehicles as glorified golf carts.
     
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  11. By  ev enthusiast Posted: 8/23/2010 9:57pm PDT

    Electric Cars Will Be Sold and Serviced Like Appliances, Thankfully - click on my name for the article
    In June, Coda Automotive announced that it will contract with Firestone to have technicians trained to do warranty work at 75 Firestone retail locations.
    darn it, we wont be able to pay those outrageous dealer costs, once the warranty period is over - LOL.
     
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  12. By  ev enthusiast Posted: 8/23/2010 10:21pm PDT

    Electric Cars Will Be Sold and Serviced Like Appliances, Thankfully - click on my name for the article
    In June, Coda Automotive announced that it will contract with Firestone to have technicians trained to do warranty work at 75 Firestone retail locations.
    darn it, we wont be able to pay those outrageous dealer costs, once the warranty period is over - LOL.
     
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