Here’s some data that will—forgive us—shock you. The battery-powered CODA travels up to 120 miles¹ between charges, but research shows that you may seldom go that far. Many of us frequently drive significantly fewer miles at a stretch, which means if you were driving an electric vehicle, you might be hard pressed to notice what you’re paying at the plug. And you’d soon forget all about spending a lot of money for oil.

Studies show that nearly half of all Americans drive 20 miles or less per weekday, and over two-thirds of us drive 20 miles or less on weekend days. A CODA driver trying to figure out those minimal demands on an electricity bill—as we have in the chart below—would come to the conclusion that driving an EV can be nearly as inexpensive as turning on the lights.

Electricity rate based on national average of 11.3 cents per kilowatt hour (2008).

———-

Destination: Work

Distance (roundtrip): 20 miles

Electricity required to recharge CODA: 7.5 kilowatt hours (kWh)

Cost: $0.85

Household equivalent:

Less than the sum of powering your kitchen appliances on a typical day: Refrigerator 5.8 kWh; microwave 1.1 kWh; dishwasher 2.4 kWh (9.3 kWh total)

———-

Destination: Work

Distance (roundtrip): 10 miles

Electricity required to recharge CODA: 3.75 kWh

Cost: $0.42

Household equivalent:

Watching your plasma TV every night for a couple weeks (.336 kWh/day x 14 days = 4.704 kWh)

———-

Destination: Shopping

Distance (roundtrip): 14 miles

Electricity required to recharge CODA: 5.25 kWh

Cost: $0.59

Household equivalent:

Drying one big load of laundry (5kWh)

———-

Destination: Taking your kids to school

Distance (roundtrip): 12 miles

Electricity required to recharge CODA: 4.5 kWh

Cost: $0.51

Household equivalent:

Working on your computer at home for nearly a week (1.18 kWh/day x 4 days = 4.72 kWh)

———-

Destination: Friend’s house

Distance (roundtrip): 22 miles

Electricity required to recharge CODA: 8.27 kWh

Cost: $0.93

Household equivalent:

Cooling your house with  an air conditioner for one warm day: :  7.73 kWh

————————————————————-

SOURCES:

—America consuming nearly 19 million barrels daily

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/country/country_energy_data.cfm?fips=US

—Approximately $3,600 spent annually on gasoline: p. 9, “Electrification Roadmap,” available from the Electrification Coalition:

www.electrificationcoalition.org/

—Statistics indicating that nearly half of all Americans drive 20 miles or less per weekday/nearly three-quarters of us drive 20 miles or less on weekend days: p. 123, “Electrification Roadmap,” available from the Electrification Coalition:

www.electrificationcoalition.org/

—2008 national average electricity rate:

www.eia.doe.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=electricity_factors_affecting_prices

—Destinations and distances based loosely on National Household Travel Survey Summary of Travel Trends (2001); p. 15/table 5:

http://nhts.ornl.gov/2001/pub/STT.pdf

—“Household equivalent” figures: http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/appliances/index.cfm/mytopic=10040 and www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-356-2.htm (for personal computer). Air conditioner data from www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/recs/recs2001/enduse2001/enduse2001.html–although Update: The 2005 stat on average A/C usage in the U.S.: 2,822 kWh/year, or 7.73 kWh/day.

—Other supporting sources:

US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Omnibus Household Survey (2003): www.bts.gov/publications/omnistats/volume_03_issue_04/html/figure_02.html

Today is different.  Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild” blasting out of a quadraphonic eight-track stereo no longer contends with the music of Thrush mufflers.  The Cleveland garage has given way to the Apple garage, and we believe in time, the CODA garage.  We have become globalized, technology-driven, and constantly connected.  Nevertheless, American garage innovation remains, stronger than ever.   By this I mean that small teams of highly-creative, can-do people who are passionate about what they design and build and are willing and able to compete, anywhere, anytime and with anyone still thrive.  This is exemplified by the approaching battery electric vehicle era and by our company, CODA Automotive.

Using 21^st century, American garage innovation, CODA plans to bring to market the first safe, affordable, and useful all-electric sedan.  How do we do this in an industry of tremendous scale with a fixed asset business model that, for over a century, has been focused on gas combustion engines?  How do we create something that is human-sized, progressive and adaptable? We do it by structuring our business model to focus on efficiency and innovation rather than bureaucracy and antiquated processes.

At CODA, we’ve focused our energy and capital on the battery system, the key enabling technology.  We have a bureaucracy of one, me, making timing, cost and performance decisions.  We have a relatively small, internal team of experienced, decisive automotive and battery engineers who require project transparency to enable cross-functional contribution and involvement.  Our internal team works seamlessly to incorporate global technology partners during the design and manufacturing processes, while still maintaining control of the battery system intellectual property.   We use a global supply chain and assembly to control costs and reduce capital expenditures, which allow CODA to be flexible, dynamic and quick to market.  We then couple that with great branding, marketing and company culture.  In a nutshell, that is the CODA garage model.

While our model is global, our core electric drive and battery system engineering partners and suppliers are based primarily in California and Michigan, and the CODA chassis has been fully tested and safety engineered by CODA and a supporting group of US engineering partners.   Thus, the core engineering and technology of the CODA is all-American.   However, without our global partners, we couldn’t do what we’re doing by 2010.  For instance, CODA and our battery system partner, Lishen Power Battery, co-own a China-based joint venture manufacturing facility, enabling us to combine the most advanced battery technology with low cost volume manufacturing. By accelerating adoption of electric cars through the large-scale production of affordable, automotive-grade battery systems, this JV is good for both the US and China.  We share common engineering mindsets and values with all our partners and find our collaborative model to be immensely stimulating and productive.

As technology entrepreneurs who believe small and focused is a way of life, we can’t exist and succeed without being smartly interdependent and collaborative with our US and international partners.  American garage innovation is alive and well and CODA is working to reconnect that innovation with balanced development and jobs.  We believe working on a global level to accelerate adoption of needed clean energy and transportation technology while building new industries and jobs in the US and other countries is truly the biggest win-win.   The result will be even cooler than the music of a big block, open chamber rat motor screaming from a ’66 Chevelle.

-Kevin

It’s not a question of when; all electric, green cars are coming this year.  It’s a question of how.

How do we, as an industry, help consumers overcome the price barrier that exists with this technology so that we can accelerate the widespread adoption of all electric cars?

CODA Automotive conducted extensive consumer insights research and analysis, which indicates that one of the highest impact ways to answer that question and move America into the electric car era is to change the $7,500 Federal tax credit program that is already in place for plug-In vehicles to an instant cash rebate program.

Similar to the 2009 Cash for Clunkers (CARS) program, which resulted in nearly 700,000 new vehicles sold during its eight-week run, a $7,500 instant cash rebate would be paid to retailers at the time of sale.  This would provide immediate price relief, reducing the upfront cost to the buyer.  While the concept behind the current program (making electric cars more affordable to more people) is a good one, it doesn’t work as a tax credit.

Most Americans think in short term, monthly payments.  A tax credit is not something they would see immediately and doesn’t help if they’re financing the car.  For instance, with the tax credit program a consumer who finances a $40,000 electric car over a 5-year term, would pay about $150 more per month and accrue nearly $1,300 more in interest payments over the course of their loan than if the program gave them an instant cash rebate.  That’s $10,300 more a consumer would pay over the course of five years.

Plug-In Vehicle Finance Transaction (60 Month Term)

*California will likely apply sales tax before deductions

Based on CODA Automotive’s extensive consumer research, restructuring the current Federal tax credit program to be an instant cash rebate would nearly triple demand for all electric cars in 2010-2011.  This would also allow CODA Automotive to price its all electric car, with touch screen navigation, on-board telematics, Bluetooth connectivity, and satellite radio capabilities, in the low $30,000-range or below, or simply put similar to a fully loaded Toyota Prius.  We believe this lower upfront price, coupled with electric cars’ lower total cost of ownership, will attract a broader range of customers and quickly spur the adoption of all-electric vehicles.

While others (including Darryl Siry and former New York Governor George Pataki) have pointed to the benefits of changing the tax credit to an upfront rebate, we believe it is the manufacturers’ responsibility to advocate for this change.  That’s why CODA Automotive is actively meeting with legislators to explain the real benefits of changing the basis of the plug-in vehicle tax credit program to one that is truly beneficial to consumers and a catalyst for initial sales of all-electric vehicles.

In the article, veteran auto industry analyst Maryann Keller said in response to DOE’s announcement, “We’re pouring $1 billion into two companies without a future.  The economics of the industry favors large companies.”

The idea that smaller companies can’t be successful and therefore won’t lead the revolution in alternative transportation is what we take issue with.  Within the past year, two of the three big, domestic auto companies went into bankruptcy and dealer sales tanked.  If that doesn’t say the auto industry needs a fresh breath of air from smaller players with disruptive models that aren’t confined by the bureaucracy of large corporations, then we don’t know what does.

Between rising carbon emission-related environmental degradation, Americans’ anti-oil sentiments, and the lack of alternative options, the market desperately needs innovative, nimble companies, like CODA Automotive, that can move quickly to shift expectations and get electric cars on the market that meet drivers’ needs and are better to the environment.

It’s hard for us to believe that one of the industry giants will do this – especially considering their businesses were founded on and  are still concretely rooted in the production of internal combustion, gas guzzling vehicles.

We get it.  It’s new and it’s unfamiliar.  So there’s a lot to think through, but that doesn’t mean you should discount them so soon.  In his October 20^th post, Gas2.0 Editor Nick Chambers points out a compelling statistic:  according to the 2001 US Department of Transportation National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), the average person drives their personal vehicle less than 23 miles a day, which is more than covered by the CODA’s minimum 90 mile range.

Still, the questions persist, “What if I want to go on a road trip over the weekend? Or what if an emergency comes up and I need to drive further than I normally do?”

These concerns are understandable, but perhaps a bit irrational.  Nick may have put it best, “So, if the average person drives a quarter of the distance an electric car is capable of going in a given day, why do people still say that they aren’t practical? It certainly isn’t a feeling based in how people actually use their cars. No, it’s more of a feeling based on our obsession with risk aversion—trying to avoid potential problems even if those problems don’t crop up during 95% of the rest of our lives.”

Our solution?  A hybrid garage.  No, we don’t mean a garage of hybrid vehicles.  What we mean is a garage with a CODA electric car for every day commuting and a conventional car (that gets high gas mileage, please) that will get you where you need to go on those rare occasions when you need more than your 90-120 mile CODA range.  And since most US households (92%) already have two vehicles, the idea of having two different cars for different purposes shouldn’t be news to anyone.