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Alternative Energy - Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Battery-Powered Auto Maker Coda Raises $24M From A List Angels

It's looking more and more like California has a shot at becoming the new Detroit, as its the center of the alt energy car business in the US.

The all-electric, four-door Coda (formerly Miles Electrical Vehicles) will sell for $45K (in the mid-$30,000s after a $7,500 Federal tax credit and additional state incentives).

Word on the street is the the Coda will hit 90 - 120 miles without needing a recharge, and the batteries within can be charged enough for a 40-mile commute in two hours. It will come with a navigation system, Bluetooth, and iPod support.

Santa Monica-based Coda Automotive has now raised $24M in a Series B investment round. The funding round include Angeleno Group (clean technology investor), Henry Paulson (former US Secretary of the Treasury), Thomas "Mack" McLarty (former Chief of Staff for President Bill Clinton), John Bryson (former Chairman and CEO of Edison International), and Thomas Steyer (Farallon Capital).

In other news, Coda says it will build a factory with Yardney Technical Products to develop and manufacture auto-grade batteries for the Coda. It will use batteries developed by Chinese manufacturer Lishen until the factory, slated for Enfield, CT is up and running.

The company has applied for a Department of Energy grant to finance construction of the factory, which Coda says will employ 600 people at capacity.

Coda Automotive plans to produce 2,700 cars in 2010 but hopes to get up to 20,000 batteries by the end of 2010.

We actually like the look of the vehicle and think the price is right. This is not going to make a big impact but we do expect they will be able to sell through their capacity in California. Coda plans to restict sales to the state of California through 2012.

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