California

EV Startup Coda Automotive Raises Capital in Difficult Times

California-based electric car and battery company, Coda Automotive, announced today the close of a Series B investment round totaling $24 million. The capital will be used to support the development and 2010 California market entry of its all-electric sedan and funding of its battery manufacturing joint venture.

The Series B investment round held its final close in early summer 2009. Investors include: the two Series A round investors, Miles Rubin, Coda founder and co-chairman, and Angeleno Group, Southern California’s largest cleantech-focused venture firm; Piper Jaffray, a Minnesota-based investment bank; Steven “Mac” Heller, Coda co-chairman; Kevin Czinger, Coda president and chief executive officer; John Bryson, former chairman and chief executive officer of Edison International and Coda board member; Thomas “Mack” McLarty, former Chief of Staff for President William J. Clinton; Henry M. Paulson, Jr., former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under President George W. Bush; and, Thomas F. Steyer, Farallon Capital Management founder and co-managing partner.

Kevin Czinger, president and CEO, Coda Automotive, had this to say;

Coda’s ability to raise capital under challenging market conditions and the caliber of our investors attest to the strength of our business model and the opportunity that exists in the electric car and battery sectors. Avoiding the problems that plague large manufacturers, we’ve developed a flexible structure that allows us to move rapidly to market and be profitable even while selling a relatively small number of vehicles per month. Consequently, we’re on-track to deliver the first quality, accessible all-electric sedan to consumers next year.

Coda Automotive

Mr. Paulson served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and led the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. Through his leadership of a number of conservation organizations he has been a strong advocate for conservation in the U.S. and in China and for immediate serious action to decrease the effects of climate change.

Prior to serving as Treasury Secretary, Mr. Paulson led Goldman Sachs as chairman and chief executive officer. Mr. Steyer founded Farallon Capital and has been its managing partner and chief investment officer since its inception in 1986. He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Stanford University and was a lead founding donor supporting the creation of Stanford’s Precourt Energy Institute, which focuses on transforming the way mankind uses energy. He is also a managing director of Hellman & Friedman, a San Francisco private equity firm.

About Coda Automotive: Headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., Coda Automotive is a manufacturer and distributor of all-electric cars and transportation battery systems. Launched in June 2009, the company designs, brands, markets and distributes electric vehicles utilizing a manufacturing partnership strategy which allows Coda Automotive to develop vehicles rapidly in a flexible manner – avoiding the traditionally capital-intensive nature of the automobile business. Coda Automotive’s first vehicle, the Coda sedan, will be delivered in 2010.