Coda Ramping Up EV Production

Coda Automotive Inc. says it has completed a five-month "soft" production launch for its $38,100 Coda electric sedan and is beginning to boost production by an unspecified amount.

CEO Phil Murtaugh tells Bloomberg News the company has so far delivered 100 Codas to customers in California and has orders for 1,000 more vehicles. Earlier this year he predicted Coda would sell at least 10,000 cars in the first 12 months of full production.

Murtaugh says the company, whose Web site lists four dealerships in California, is setting up a 30-dealer network in California, Florida and Oregon to handle the volume. He tells Bloomberg the network will expand to more states and as many as 50 dealerships as sales increase.

The Coda sedan is built without a powertrain in China by Hafei Automotive Group. The five-passenger car, which uses a 31-kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery supplied by China's Lishen Power Battery Co., undergoes final assembly near at a Coda factory in Benicia, Calif.

The Coda EV is powered by a 134-hp electric motor that makes 221 lb-ft of torque. The car has an average range of 88 miles per charge, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.