Miles Electric Vehicles Inc., a Santa Monica start-up that imports electric vehicles from China, on Wednesday unveiled a five-passenger, all-electric sedan that it hopes to launch in the U.S. market in 2010.

The new car, dubbed the Coda, will have a range of 90 to 120 miles and cost about $45,000. The car and its lithium ion phosphate batteries will be primarily manufactured in China and sold exlusively in California for at least the first year.

Miles executives also announced they were creating a new company, Coda Automotive, to oversee the manufacture and sale of the Coda. Kevin Czinger, chief executive of Miles, also will be Coda’s chief executive.

The company said it had secured a partnership with Porsche Engineering to help design and safety test the Coda.

The Coda will take about six hours to fully charge from a 220 volt outlet, which is typically found in residential garages. The car will have a top speed of 80 miles per hour and accelerate from 0 to 60 in under 11 seconds, the company said.

The Coda will likely go head-to-head with the Model S, a seven-passenger all-electric sedan manufactured by San Carlos-based Tesla Motors Inc. The Model S, which was unveiled in Los Angeles two months ago, is expected to hit the market in 2011 and will have an estimated range of 230 to 300 miles and a price of around $57,000.