Coda revs up expansion plans with $58m funding round

The race between the world's leading green car start-ups to see which can get a mainstream, zero-emission vehicle to market first took another twist this week, when California-based Coda Automotive announced it had raked in $58m (£40m) through its third funding round.

The company, which is poised to launch an all-electric sedan car later this year, said the latest funding takes its total capital raised to more than $125m. It added that it had been seeking $50m, but extended the round in response to " strong investor demand".

The funding was led by Aeris Capital, a private Swiss investment firm, and also pulled in a new investor in the form of Singapore-based EDB Investments (EDBI).

The cash injection has been earmarked to support the launch of the company's flagship electric car, which is expected to have a range of 90-120 miles and a price of about $30,000 before government incentives.

Some of the funding will be used to support Lio Energy Systems, a lithium battery joint venture that Coda set up last year with China-based Lishen Power Battery. The joint venture already has an agreement in place with the Bank of Tianjin Joint-Stock Co for up to $327m of long-term credit, as well as access to a $100m equity capital commitment from CODA and Lishen that is expected to be used to expand its manufacturing operations.

Coda has also set its sights on international expansion, announcing this week that it is to open an office in Singapore to provide a base for the development of right-hand drive electric vehicles for the Asian and European markets. " While CODA remains focused on the US introduction of our all-electric car this year, international markets, particularly in Asia and Europe, are important to the long-term strategic positioning of our company," said company president and chief executive Kevin Czinger.

The latest funding round will provide a major boost to the company, which has kept a remarkably low profile compared to rivals such as US start-ups Tesla and Fisker Automotive and European electric car firm Think. However, while it has failed to generate as much hype as some of its competitors, the company remains on track to be among the first wave of companies to get an electric sedan to market and is already laying the groundwork for international expansion.