Electric Car Company Lays Off 15% of Staff

Coda Automotive has recently dismissed 50 of its 330 employees—15% of its workforce.

That’s just another in a string of negative reports emerging about the electric vehicle company. They were already two years behind schedule in getting their car onto the market. The car was reviewed fairly modestly but received poor safety ratings.

CSMonitor excerpts a press release that basically offers bland corporate jargon. Key points to note are that Coda has sold just about 100 units of its EV, called the 2012 Coda Sedan. In fact, although production began back in March, we’ve not seen any sales figures at all so far.

The EV market has made rapid advances. Nissan (TYO: 7201) and Chevrolet have compelling offerings out there. Other makers are getting in on the act too.

But the Coda hasn’t impressed so far, and it seems highly doubtful it will have a future to speak of.

The four-door sedan is essentially a “glider” based on a fairly old Mitsubishi (TYO: 8058) vehicle and is built in China. It’s brought into the U.S. where electronics and motors are attached (thus making it technically a made-in-the-U.S. Car).

The 66-kW onboard charger and 100-mile driving range were novel ideas when first presented, but those features are increasingly becoming par for these types of vehicles.