Electric carmaker Coda pulls plug after one year, 100 sales

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Electric carmaker Coda pulls plug after one year, 100 sales

Michael James

Electric carmaker filed for bankruptcy

Coda, which joined the green car fraternity and introduced its vehicles to California consumers about one year ago, has filed for bankruptcy protection after selling only about 100 of its all-electric sedans.

The five-passenger Coda E.V., imported from China, had a range of 125 miles on a single charge. But the $37,250 vehicle was criticized for its no-frills styling. Its brief tenure also included a recall for faulty air bags.

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According to Reuters, the bankruptcy filing with the federal Bankruptcy Court in Delaware will allow the Los Angeles company to leave the auto industry and refocus on energy storage. Coda uses the same technology it used in cars to build systems for utilities and building operators to store power.

Electric carmaker filed for bankruptcy
The Coda E.V. is no longer

A group of lenders led by Fortress Investment Group plans to extend debtor-in-possession financing and will seek to acquire the company for $25 million through the bankruptcy process, Coda said in a statement.

Coda was one of an emerging crop of California start-ups, including Fisker Automotive and Tesla Motors. All sough to build emission-free electric cars to appeal to mass-market consumers.

Investors poured money into the sector, and Coda raised $300 million in equity from backers, including Aeris Capital, the Limited Brands chief executive Les Wexner, and former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

However, in 2012 the company withdrew its request for $334 million in federal loans like the ones Fisker and Tesla received.

As the allure of electric vehicles faded, Coda struggled to secure new private funding. Last year, Coda sought to raise $150 million but clinched just $22 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Article Last Updated: March 14, 2014.

4 thoughts on “Electric carmaker Coda pulls plug after one year, 100 sales”

  1. I’m not surprised. No one wants to buy an overpriced, cheaply made Chinese car that likely wouldn’t survive a crash with a basketball, much less a real car.

    Reply
  2. Pingback: Drive On: Coda becomes latest electric car failure – USA Today – USA TODAY « Contacto Latino News
  3. Pingback: Drive On: Coda becomes latest electric car failure - USA Today - USA TODAY | Financial News OneFinancial News One
  4. When will they learn? The day they start selling a car for about half that, that gets double its mileage, I may just go out and look at them in the lot. I can buy a whole lot of gas, and go farther between refills, using half the money this thing costs.

    Reply

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