CODA Automotive announces pricing for electric car
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CODA Automotive, a startup electric car company in Santa Monica, said Tuesday that it will start taking deposits for its four-door, five-passenger sedan this week and will begin delivering the cars in December.
The automaker is pricing the car at $44,900, a sticker price above electric vehicle offerings from the much larger General Motors Co. and Nissan North America Inc. that also go on sale later this year.
The Coda will be will be eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit and $5,000 California tax rebate, which brings the price down to $32,400. Coda said it will be eligible for carpool-lane access through 2015.
[Updated at 10:47 a.m.: An earlier version of this post incorrectly said the sticker price would be $37,400 before the federal tax credit.]
The Chevrolet Volt, the first mass-market electric vehicle from General Motors Co., will go on sale later this year with a sticker price starting at $41,000 when it hits showrooms this year -- but federal tax credits will reduce the cost to $33,500. In December, the all-electric Nissan Leaf hatchback is slated to go on sale starting at $32,780, but will be eligible for both the federal and state incentives, bringing its price down to $20,280.
The all-electric Coda will have a 90- to 120-mile range, depending on driving speed, weather and other factors.
The cars are built on a chassis manufactured in China and based on a design licensed from Mitsubishi but greatly modified by CODA. About a third of the vehicle, primarily its electric power train, is made in the United States. Final assembly of the vehicles, including installation of the power train, is expected to take place at a factory in Benicia, Calif.
Drivers interested in the vehicle should check out www.codaautomotive.com. CODA is collecting refundable $500 deposits from people who want to reserve cars. Coda plans to offer a three-year or 36,000-mile warranty on the vehicle and a battery warranty of eight-years or 100,000 miles.
Rather than set up a dealership network, CODA initially plans to sell the vehicle direct to consumers through two showrooms planned for Santa Monica and the San Francisco Bay Area.
-- Jerry Hirsch
