- The Coda EV went on sale in 2012, the same year as Tesla's Model S.
- While the Model S is still sold today, the Coda EV is long gone.
- The company behind it went bankrupt in 2013 and its assets were sold.
It’s 2012 and the Tesla Model S is about to go into production at the young automaker’s new factory in Fremont, California. It was a brand-new, purpose-built EV from a company that made a name for itself with the original Roadster–a sporty and rather expensive first try that became a collectible in recent years.
The 2012 Model S was priced from $57,400 for the base version with the software-limited 40-kilowatt-hour battery and went all the way up to $105,400 for the top Signature Performance trim. In today’s money, that would be about $78,000 and $143,000, respectively.
In other words, it was expensive. So what could an environmentally-conscious consumer buy that could provide sufficient range and amenities at a lower price? Well, not much. There was the original Nissan Leaf which had an EPA range rating of up to 109 miles and the ill-fated Ford Focus Electric with up to 115 miles of range.
But what if you were looking for something more obscure? Something that smelled like Tesla at its beginnings and not some consumerist cash-grab auto giant? The 2012 Coda EV might just be the perfect choice, and I just happened to stumble upon MotorWeek’s original review of the up-and-coming battery-powered American sedan on YouTube the other day.
The Coda EV went into production in 2012 using a 31-kilowatt-hour lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) bolted to the underside of a Chinese-made rolling chassis that was also sold overseas as the Hafei Saibao (which itself was based on the late 1990s Mitsubishi Lancer.)
It had a front electric motor capable of putting down 134 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque–enough for a zero to 60 miles per hour sprint in 9.5 seconds. It could be topped up from a Level 2 charger in around six hours and it had a 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty for the battery.
Coda said its four-door sedan was capable of covering up to 125 miles on a full charge, although the EPA had another opinion, with the official rating showing just 88 miles. That said, it was the most efficient EV of its time, but its hype was short-lived.
Coda Automotive went bankrupt in 2013 with just 117 units delivered and about 150 more–either completed or gliders–were left unsold. MotorWeek said in its review that it “looks like a garden-variety” car and that it’s “still something of a work in progress.” Nevertheless, the review ended on a positive note: “It grabbed our attention and kept it.”
As for pricing, the Coda EV started at $38,145 in 2012, which is roughly $52,000 in today’s money. Some are still driving today, as Aging Wheels on YouTube knows too well, but there weren’t many of them to begin with.
