Coda Automotive

CODA Automotive Inc. was a privately held American company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company designed and assembled lithium-iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery systems for automotive and power storage utility applications, and electric cars.[1] Miles Automotive partnered with Hafei and Qingyuan Electric Vehicle to establish Coda Automotive as an affiliate company.[4][5] The name CODA comes from the musical term for the concluding passage of a piece of music. CODA Automotive has said that it chose the name because its electric vehicle technology represents an end for combustion engine vehicles, and the start of the electric vehicle era.[6]

Coda Automotive Inc.
TypePrivate
IndustryAutomotive, Battery[1]
FateAcquired by Exergonix, Inc.
Founded2009 (2009)[2]
DefunctMay 2016 (2016-05)
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California[1]
Key people
Philip Murtaugh (CEO),
Ashoka Achuthan (CFO),
Steven "Mac" Heller
(Executive Chairman)
ProductsCoda Car[1] lithium-iron batteries
ParentCODA Holdings (2009-2015)[2] Exergonix, Inc.[3] (2016-)
WebsiteCODA Energy

In June 2009, CODA announced the creation and funding of LIO Energy Systems,[7] a global joint-venture with Lishen Power Battery. LIO Energy Systems was formed with the purpose of designing, manufacturing, and selling battery systems for electric vehicles and utility applications. LIO Energy Systems will supply battery systems to CODA Automotive for use in the all-electric CODA, to other automotive OEMs globally, and to renewable energy producers, utilities and other power storage customers. LIO Energy Systems was later renamed CODA Energy.[8]

CODA's sole vehicle offering was the Coda all-electric sedan, a four-door, five passenger electric car powered by a battery pack that delivered a United States Environmental Protection Agency rated range of 88 mi (142 km), the longest among its class, although considerably less than the Tesla Roadster and Tesla Model S.[9] The electric car was released in March 2012,[10] and initially was available only in California.[11][12] After low initial sales of the Coda Car, Coda Automotive terminated 15% of its workforce,[13] and entered a period of financial difficulty.[14][15] By May 2013, Coda was seeking bankruptcy protection.[16] By May 2016, Exergonix, Inc. acquired all assets of the company.[3]

Corporate strategy and partners
CODA employees in Santa Monica, CA

CODA Automotive's goal is to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles, and renewable energy technology globally. To this end, CODA has focused on improving performance, safety, reducing cost, and commercializing production of battery systems built for automotive applications, which it views as the "chief enabling technology" for all-electric cars. To reduce the cost of building its vehicles, CODA controls all core design, and engineering work internally while partnering with established automotive manufacturers, and suppliers around the world. CODA's supply chain partners include BorgWarner, UQM Technologies, EnergyCS, Continental Automotive Systems, Porsche Design Studios, Delphi, Celgard, Novolyte Technologies, OMITEC, Lear, Hella, Hafei, and Lishen. In total, CODA has more than thirty suppliers, and partners on four continents.[17] In March 2012, Chinese car maker Great Wall Motors formed a joint venture with Coda.[18]

Products

Coda all-electric car
CODA electric car exhibited at the 2012 Washington Auto Show, District of Columbia
Main article: Coda (electric car)

CODA's first car is an all-electric four-door, five passenger battery electric vehicle (BEV), the CODA sedan. The car is powered by a 31 kWh lithium ion iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery pack that is substantially larger than that of other vehicles in its class.[19] According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Coda's 31 kWh lithium ion iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery system delivers a range of 88 mi (142 km), the longest among its class. EPA's rated the Coda's combined fuel economy at 73 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent(3.2 L/100 km).[9][20] The car is backed by a 3-year, 36,000 mile limited warranty[21] and the battery system is backed by a 10-year, 100,000 mile limited warranty.[22]

CODA announced that net price will be US$37,250 before any electric vehicle federal tax credit, and other state and local incentives that are available in the U.S.[22] Initial deliveries of the vehicle were planned for December 2010, but were pushed back to the second half of 2011 as CODA decided to have more time available to ensure the quality of the car,[23] and later were again rescheduled for late 2011.[11] The latest market launch was slated for February 2012,[24] but the first deliveries to retail customers in the United States took place in March 2012.[10] Initially the electric car is available only in California.[11]

Battery production and distribution joint-venture

CODA has a global joint-venture with Lishen Power Battery, a global battery cell supplier to Samsung, Motorola, and Apple, for the design, manufacture, and sale of battery systems called LIO Energy Systems. The name was selected because “LIO” is the reverse spelling of “oil.” Together, CODA and Lishen developed a lithium iron phosphate battery cell for transportation, and utility applications, which includes, renewable energy (wind and solar power) storage.[25] LIO Energy Systems currently operates a manufacturing facility in Tianjin and plans to build a U.S. facility in Columbus, Ohio.[26] Initially, the CODA will be the primary recipient of the battery systems produced by LIO. LIO's production capacity will total 1.4 billion amp hours in Tianjin, China at full scale. With the completion of the Ohio plant, total capacity will reach two billion Ah (6.3 million kWh) of energy storage.[27]

In May 2010, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke visited the LIO Energy Systems facility in Tianjin as part of the Obama administration's first cabinet-level trade mission to China. Commenting on the visit, Locke said, "International green technology partnerships can produce rapid job growth back home and deliver energy solutions abroad, and CODA's venture proves it."[27]

Financial history and investors
Former CODA Logo

Kevin Czinger and Miles Rubin founded Coda in 2009. Early funding raised US$125 million .[28] On January 6, 2011, Coda announced the first close of a US$76 million Series D investment round, bringing the company's “total invested capital” to more than US$200 million .[29] Lio Energy Systems, CODA's joint venture with Lishen, is funded by a US$100 million equity investment by the partners, and as such, entered into “cooperation agreements” for “up to US$327 million of long-term credit.”.[30]

Notable investors include, equity firms, Harbinger Capital Partners,[28] Piper Jaffray,[28] Riverstone Holdings,[28] and personal investors, Henry "Hank" Paulson,[28] John Bryson,[28] Klaus Tschira,[28] Les Wexner,[28] Mack McLarty,[28] Miles Rubin,[28] Steven “Mac” Heller,[28] and Tom Steyer.[28]

After selling approximately 100 Coda Cars in California, Coda filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 1, 2013.[31] Coda Holdings stated that it expects to emerge from the bankruptcy process to focus solely on its subsidiary Coda Energy, and would abandon car manufacturing which is capital intensive.[16][32]

Shortly after the bankruptcy announcement, former employee Tony Bulchak filed a class-action lawsuit against the automaker, alleging that Coda laid off 125 workers on December 14, 2012, without giving them a 60-day notice.[33]

Awards

Lung disease advocacy group Breathe California named CODA a Clean Air Award winner in the technology development category on April 19, 2010.[34]

Silicon Valley networking organization AlwaysOn selected CODA as one of the top privately held companies focused on green technology in its GoingGreen 100 list for 2010.[35]

References
  1. CODA Holdings Celebrates Global Headquarters Grand Opening Ceremonies with California Governor Jerry, PRNewswire, 2011-11-10, retrieved 2011-11-17
  2. "#95 CODA Holdings". Forbes. 2011-11-30.
  3. Wesoff, Eric (2016-05-17). "Is the Third Time a Charm for Coda's Energy Storage Business?". Greentech Media. Massachusetts, United States.
  4. Lienert, Paul (2009-06-04). "China-Made Hafei Saibao Heads to U.S. - Rebadged as Coda Sedan". Edmunds.com, Inc. Retrieved 2012-07-13.
  5. Abuelsamid, Sam (2009-06-03). "Miles EV launches Coda Automotive for full speed electric sedan". AOL Inc. Retrieved 2012-07-13.
  6. "CODA Automotive The All-Electric Car Company". CODA Automotive. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
  7. Chris Woodyard (2010-05-25). "CODA to build big plant in Ohio – if grants come through". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
  8. About CODA Energy
  9. U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2012-03-09). "2011–12 Electric Vehicles - 2012 Coda". Fueleconomy.gov. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  10. Danny King (2012-03-19). "Coda sells first three battery-electric cars to California customers". Autoblog Green. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  11. Brad Berman (2011-04-25). "First Coda Electric Car Deliveries Now "Late Fourth Quarter" 2011". PluginCars.com. Retrieved 2011-04-27.
  12. "L.A. auto show: Coda pushes EV launch back to second half of 2011". Autoweek. Archived from the original on 2012-03-23. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
  13. Coda Automotive undergoes "massive layoffs"
  14. "Low Battery: Coda On Last Leg, Future Unknown". 2013-03-05. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
  15. Coda Furloughs Workers in New Wave of Cost Cuts
  16. Reuters (2013-05-01). "Electric Car Maker Files for Bankruptcy Protection". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
  17. Kevin Czinger. "Funding a Movement of Positive Energy". CODA Automotive. Archived from the original on 2010-07-03. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
  18. "Not yet: Look before you leapfrog", The Economist, 2012-05-05, retrieved 2019-07-31
  19. "How the 2011 Coda Sedan hopes to compete with the Nissan Leaf".
  20. Sebastian Blanco (2012-03-08). "Coda get official EPA numbers: 73 MPGe with an 88-mile range *UPDATE". Autoblog Green. Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  21. "CODA Automotive Launches Direct-to-Consumer Sales of Its All-Electric, Zero Tailpipe Emissions Sedan". PRNewswire. 2010-09-21. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  22. Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield (2011-11-16). "2011 LA Auto Show: Coda Releases Pricing, Details on 2012 Sedan". Green Car Reports. Archived from the original on 2016-01-28. Retrieved 2011-11-16.
  23. Katie Fehrenbacher. "Coda Pushes Back Sales Date of Electric Sedan". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2010-11-20. Retrieved 2010-11-20.
  24. Eric Loveday (2012-01-02). "Coda Electric Sedan to Make Showroom Debut in February, Sales to Follow". PluginCars.com. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  25. "Who is Lio?". Lio Energy Systems. Archived from the original on 2010-11-25. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
  26. "Some Roads to US Electric Car Batteries Go Via China". The Wall Street Journal. 2010-05-22. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  27. "Global Energy Experts James P. McGinnis and Lord John Browne Join CODA's Board of Directors". Archived from the original on 2011-02-13.
  28. Dumaine, Brian (2012-09-24). "Heavy Hitters Make An Electric Car". Fortune: 89–92. Archived from the original on 2012-11-14.
  29. "CODA Holdings Raises $76 Million in Series D Initial Closing". Archived from the original on 2011-01-19. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
  30. "Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to Visit CODA's Electric Car and Clean Energy Storage Battery Manufacturing Facility". PR Newswire.
  31. "Coda Automative Chapter 11 Petition" (PDF). PacerMonitor. PacerMonitor. 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2016-06-10.
  32. Read, Richard (2013-05-01). "Electric Car Company Coda Files for Bankruptcy". The Car Connection. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  33. Fehrenbacher, Katie (2013-05-01). "Another WARN class action suit for cleantech, this time for Coda Automotive". Gigaom. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  34. Sam Abuelsamid. "Breathe California gives clean air award to CODA Automotive". CODA Automotive. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
  35. "AlwaysOn names CODA a GoingGreen 100 winner". Archived from the original on 2010-10-03. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
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