Coda Automotive plans assembly in China of up to 20,000 electric sedan's per year

Coda Sedan, photo by David Herron

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Coda Automotive is one of the startup companies entering the automobile market with an 100% electric car. Their car is a sedan manufactured by a Chinese partner with major components sourced from American companies. It has been unclear exactly how much of Coda's sedan is manufactured in America. The Dept of Energy loans and funding being given to Coda and other manufacturers have, in part, a purpose to facilitate launching new American "green" manufacturing jobs including electric vehicles and components. In a presentation earlier this year to the San Francisco chapter of the Electric Auto Association, Coda's VP of Battery systems stated that approximately 51% of their sedan is American manufactured. SEC filings by Coda's supplier, UQM Technologies, gives a lot of information about Coda.

In June 2009 UQM and Coda entered into a 10 year supply contract to supply UQM's 100 kW PowerPhase electric drive train components to Coda's production partner HaFei. Initial shipments are expected to begin this year, in 2010, clearly so that Coda can begin selling their sedan this year. UQM states that Coda hopes to sell 11,000 sedans in 2011 and to ramp up to 20,000 sedans per year.

UQM's filing states that Coda worked with multiple partners to design the sedan, including Porsche Engineering. The price is expected to be around $35,000 after the $7,500 federal tax credit. it has a 33 kilowatt-hour battery pack giving it a range between 90-120 miles depending on driving habits.

The chassis and UQM drive train is assembled and tested in China at an assembly line operated by HaFei. HaFei is China's third largest automobile manufacturer. UQM states an understanding that Coda intends to perform final assembly at a facility in southern California and to, over time, shift more of the final assembly to facilities in California rather than in China.

Coda also has a joint venture with Tianjin Lishen Battery Co. ("Lishen"), one of the largest manufacturers of lithium batteries. While Coda is using off-the-shelf components from many companies (primarily American) this battery pack is their design and manufactured to their specification by Lishen.

Coda is based in Santa Monica CA and has a bigger vision than simply selling electric cars. They describe themselves as "leading the way to a cleaner future" by designing and manufacturing battery systems for their own cars, for other electric vehicle manufacturers and for energy storage systems such as wind power storage.

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