By now, it seems like electric vehicle make the news more often for failure than for success, such as a recent announcement by CODA Automotive subsidiaries Lio Energy Systems and Miles Electric Vehicles.
CODA Automotive has been suffering for a lack of style, having sold just over one hundred of its electric vehicles in outdated bodies. The market for electric vehicles is extremely difficult to negotiate, and there have been more failures than successes, contrasting A123 Systems, Fisker Automotive, and CODA Automotive against such successes as Tesla Motors, Chevy Volt, and Nissan Leaf.
Actually, sales of electric vehicles aren’t that great compared to conventional vehicles, and even the big companies, like General Motors and Nissan, are showing poor sales numbers. Electric vehicle sales are critical to startup electric vehicle manufacturers since they don’t have the support of the rest of their conventional fleet. Filing for bankruptcy on May 1, CODA Automotive is waiting for a buyer or pretty much ready to disappear altogether, but subsidiary companies Lio Energy Systems and Miles Electric Vehicles don’t want to go down with the ship.
Miles actually predates CODA by five years, established in 2004, and manufactures low-speed electric vehicles for use on campuses and park services. Lio is a CODA and Lishen Power Battery of China joint venture. CODA Automotive may be stepping out of the electric vehicle market, but will focus instead on developing stationary energy storage systems through yet another subsidiary, CODA Energy Systems.