At this year's LA Auto Show, it was obvious that more EVs are on their way. But not just from the big automakers, like Audi and BMW. In this week's episode, we show you two EVs from lesser-known upstarts that we think have some serious potential: DOK-ING and CODA. DOK-ING is a Croatian company that produces mostly unmanned vehicles. Currently, they make vehicles for mine clearing, firefighting and underground mining. Their biggest customer is the U.S. defense department. But, that could soon change. DOK-ING is looking to get into the consumer market with their XD concept.
The XD is a three-seat EV designed to be a city car. The driver's seat is set in the center and both passenger seats are outboard behind the driver--similar to the McLaren F1. The name XD doesn't actually come from the phrase, "extra delicious," instead the X comes from the unique shape of the taillights and the D from DOK-ING.
This funky prototype isn't all about styling, though. Housing up to four motors, the XD4 variant puts out up to 241 hp and 530 lb-ft of torque. The AWD, with the electric motors' instant torque, help send the XD4 to 62 mph in an estimated 4.2 secs. That's really fast for an EV that weighs 2866 lbs, but remains to be tested in a production version. Much of that weight comes from the 705 lbs 32 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery, but gives the XD4 a respectable 136 miles of urban range.
As for pricing, we were told $40-50K USD, but other outlets are reporting $80-100K. DOK-ING expects pricing to come closer to that of an average car if they're able to achieve mass production.
Speaking of average cars, we shine the spotlight over to the average looking CODA, the LA-based EV company's first vehicle. CODA was founded in 2009, but since then we've seen nothing more than a concept. Finally, at the 2011 LA Auto Show, CODA made a big announcement: production is starting and the cars will be in the U.S. by the beginning of 2012.
The CODA EV is powered by a 100 kW electric motor that gets its energy from a 36 kWh battery. Like the XD, the CODA's battery material is lithium iron phosphate. The Coda's 728 battery cells are stored in a bottom tray for platform stiffness and better drive dynamics.
As far as performance goes, expect the 134 peak hp and 221 lb-ft of torque to be pretty competent in this car. But the purpose of the Coda is to have a greater range than EVs on the market today, like the Nissan Leaf. CODA is expects range to be around 150 miles and charge time to be among the fastest available, at 6 hours from 0-100% on a 220V charger. We'll have to wait until we get our hands on one to verify the numbers, but at a starting price of $39,900 before incentives, the Coda will have to put up some strong numbers to compete with the big boys.
The XD is a three-seat EV designed to be a city car. The driver's seat is set in the center and both passenger seats are outboard behind the driver--similar to the McLaren F1. The name XD doesn't actually come from the phrase, "extra delicious," instead the X comes from the unique shape of the taillights and the D from DOK-ING.
This funky prototype isn't all about styling, though. Housing up to four motors, the XD4 variant puts out up to 241 hp and 530 lb-ft of torque. The AWD, with the electric motors' instant torque, help send the XD4 to 62 mph in an estimated 4.2 secs. That's really fast for an EV that weighs 2866 lbs, but remains to be tested in a production version. Much of that weight comes from the 705 lbs 32 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery, but gives the XD4 a respectable 136 miles of urban range.
As for pricing, we were told $40-50K USD, but other outlets are reporting $80-100K. DOK-ING expects pricing to come closer to that of an average car if they're able to achieve mass production.
Speaking of average cars, we shine the spotlight over to the average looking CODA, the LA-based EV company's first vehicle. CODA was founded in 2009, but since then we've seen nothing more than a concept. Finally, at the 2011 LA Auto Show, CODA made a big announcement: production is starting and the cars will be in the U.S. by the beginning of 2012.
The CODA EV is powered by a 100 kW electric motor that gets its energy from a 36 kWh battery. Like the XD, the CODA's battery material is lithium iron phosphate. The Coda's 728 battery cells are stored in a bottom tray for platform stiffness and better drive dynamics.
As far as performance goes, expect the 134 peak hp and 221 lb-ft of torque to be pretty competent in this car. But the purpose of the Coda is to have a greater range than EVs on the market today, like the Nissan Leaf. CODA is expects range to be around 150 miles and charge time to be among the fastest available, at 6 hours from 0-100% on a 220V charger. We'll have to wait until we get our hands on one to verify the numbers, but at a starting price of $39,900 before incentives, the Coda will have to put up some strong numbers to compete with the big boys.
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