Electric car maker Coda raises $76M

The company is known for its all electric Coda Sedan and its lithium-ion batteries

Coda Holdings, maker of the much-anticipated all electric Coda Sedan, announced Thursday morning that it has raised $76 million in a Series D round led by new investors Harbinger Capital Partners and Riverstone Holdings, each of which will have a seat on Coda’s board.  Previous investors also contributed to the round, including Coda’s founder and co-chairman Miles Rubin, CODA's Interim CEO and Co-Chairman Steven “Mac” Heller, AERIS Capital, and Angeleno Group.  The round brings Coda’s total funds raised to more than $200 million.

The funds will be put towards the production and marketing of the company’s battery-operated, all electric Coda Sedan, as well as the battery production facility that Coda runs with Lishen Power Battery, LIO Energy Systems to create lithium-ion battery cells.

It’s those lithium-ion batteries that set the Coda Sedan apart from other electric vehicles coming out this year, including the Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Volt, and the Ford Focus EV.  The Coda’s battery pack has more energy capacity and range than other electric vehicles, the company claims.  The car also comes equipped with a Bluetooth system with an embedded microphone (presumably so you can make calls), MP3/USB connectivity, a navigation system with turn-by-turn directions, roadside assistance with an emergency button, and satellite capability for XM radio.

The company claims that the Coda’s range is between 90 and 120 miles, which does, indeed, exceed that of the Nissan Leaf (found to average around 70 miles).  This could explain why the Coda comes with such a hefty $45,000 price-tag--$12,000 more than the Nissan Leaf.  But I suppose when you’re a parent with kids in the backseat and you need to make it to school and back while staring at a battery life meter, can you really put a price-tag on peace of mind?

Coda recently sealed a deal with Enterprise Rent-a-Car to bring up to 100 all-electric Coda Sedans to Enterprise’s rental locations throughout 2011, and the company plans to sell 14,000 vehicles by the end of 2011, with nearly half of those vehicles coming from fleet sales.

The batteries are made through Coda’s and Lishen’s joint-venture battery production facility.  Coda is considering several sites in Ohio to construct another battery production facility that would also be a joint venture with Lishen. 

Image source: prnewswire.com