Los Angeles-based Coda has delayed the launch of its four-door electric sedan several times over the past couple of years.
According to The Detroit News, the company is on track to start selling cars by the end of this month.
Coda claims that it has five dealers set up and ready to go. One is in San Diego, a second is in San Francisco, but the remaining three’s whereabouts were not disclosed. The company hopes that its dealer network will grow to include 40 dealers in 25 U.S. cities by the end of 2012.
The yet-unnamed Coda sedan will be powered by an electric motor rated at 100 kilowatt (about 134 horsepower) and 221 lb-ft of torque. No acceleration figures were given, but the company stated that the sedan’s top speed is electronically limited to 85 miles per hour.
Electricity will come from a lithium iron phosphate battery that has a range of up to 150 miles. By comparison, a Nissan Leaf can drive about 100 miles on a single charge. The Coda will be rechargeable in six hours on a 220V plug.
The sedan will carry a base price of $39,900, slightly more than a Leaf. Coda plans on eventually introducing a version with a shorter range that will retail for about $2,650 less. The prices don’t include the car’s destination charge, or potential tax credits awarded for the purchase of an EV.
The company had initially hoped to assemble its cars in China, but it has changed its plans and final assembly should take place in southern California. About 20% of the car’s components will come from the United States.
“We’re an American company,” said Coda CEO Phil Murtaugh. “We’re the fastest growing company in Los Angeles. All of our technology is developed in LA.”
Be that as it may, the car’s final assembly point will heavily depend on whether or not the company manages to get a loan from the U.S. Department of Energy. If Coda fails to get the loan, it could take about five to eight years for it to make enough money to build cars in the U.S.
Murtaugh did not announce how many cars he hopes his company will sell each year, saying merely that Coda’s future and the future of EVs in general depends on the price of gasoline.
“If gas goes to a buck and a half a gallon, EVs ain’t going very far. At $10 a gallon, people will be screaming for EVs,” said Murtaugh.
