Fisker to Build Plug-in Hybrids in Former GM Plant

Fisker Automotive has chosen GM’s former assembly plant in Wilmington, Del., to launch its Project NINA, a plan to build family-friendly plug-in hybrid sedans that cost less than $40,000 with a federal tax credit, according to the automaker. Ironically, the vehicle would directly compete with GM’s upcoming Chevy Volt.

Vice President and former Delaware senator Joe Biden joined Fisker executives today for the announcement at the plant.

Fisker says it will begin production on its vehicles by late 2012; Project NINA will eventually create or support 2,000 factory jobs as well as 3,000 vendor and supplier jobs. By 2014, it expects production to enter full swing, turning out 75,000-100,000 vehicles per year. It expects to export more than half of these vehicles, which would be the largest export percentage of any domestic automaker.

The automaker will spend $175 million to retool the GM plant with the funding coming from the $528.7 million Department of Energy loan awarded to Fisker in September. Currently, Fisker only offers its electric sports car, the Karma (pictured above). The Wilmington plant was recently retooled to produce GM’s Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky and Opal GT roadsters and coupes.

Fisker, DOT Agree to Terms of $528.7 Million Loan

The U.S. Department of Energy and Fisker Automotive have agreed to terms for a $528.7 million loan to create affordable plug-in hybrid vehicles. The money comes from the $25 billion Advanced Technologies Vehicle Manufacturing Loan Program, which was created by Congress last November.

Fisker claims the loan will create or save 5,000 jobs among manufacturers and auto suppliers. The plug-in hybrid manufacturer also claims that by 2016 an estimated 821 million gallons of gasoline will be saved and 8 million tons of CO2 offset by sales of Fisker’s low-cost plug-in hybrid models.

The rub? The first “low-cost” model Fisker will roll out will be $39,900 after tax credits. That’s a heavy premium to pay even when getting 50 miles to a charge and a gas-extended range of 300 miles like you do with the Fisker Karma. To make the car a value through its fuel savings, the term “low-cost” will have to lose the ironic quotation marks.

Currently, Fisker has said it has 1,500 orders for future Karma vehicles — a high-end sedan — and has recruited a network of 45 retailers, which it hopes to grow to 100 in the coming years.

Fisker Partners With Dealers to Sell Plug-in Karma

Fisker took a major step toward its goal of putting the Karma, its 100-mpg plug-in electric hybrid, onto 40 dealership lots by the end of June. The green automaker has named 32 North American retailers that will sell and service the $87,000 Karma sedan.

All the retailers are stable operations that mostly specialize in premium brands. Fisker also plans for the showrooms to display the company’s eco ethics, with natural and sustainable woods and textiles incorporated into the architecture, plus solar-powered car ports for demonstrator vehicles.

Check out the full list of dealers after the jump.

2010 Fisker Karma Video

The 2009 Detroit auto show was all about cars of the future. Well, the future’s here for Fisker, which showed off its 2010 Karma, a plug-in electric vehicle with a solar-paneled roof. Cars.com’s Joe Wiesenfelder takes a tour of the $80,000 car in this video, and he’s thoroughly impressed by the size, space and — to keep the vehicle audible — the speakers that can broadcast the sound from a jet engine.

Fisker Karma S Sunset Plug-In Hybrid Convertible

• Looks like: A convertible, two-door Karma — and the hottest hybrid you'll see, indefinitely
• Defining characteristics: Supercar looks, two 201-hp electric drive motors powered by a lithium-ion battery and generator (generator driven by a GM Ecotec 265-hp, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder); all-wheel drive
• Ridiculous features: We have to wait another two years!
• Chance of being mass-produced: Done deal; green-lit on the spot

Like the Karma four-door that appeared at the Detroit show a year ago and returned as a production car this year, the Karma S convertible is a prototype. Though it's not exactly what will go into production, it's closer to the real thing than the average fanciful concept car you see at an auto show. Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Automotive, confirmed it will be a real product, but said we shouldn't expect to see it before 2011.

Also called the Sunset, the Karma S has a retractable hardtop that disappears into the trunk. The side windows are encircled by chrome trim, so the lower trim — which remains when the top is down — looks more natural when the top is up. The Sunset has two doors, and it sacrifices the four-door's remarkably usable rear seats for a couple small ones best fit for kids — though larger folks could make it work with the top down if they can find a place to put their legs.

No word yet on pricing or how many of these models Fisker intends to build. The 2010 Karma hardtop is priced below $90,000, and the target production run is 15,000 per year.

2010 Fisker Karma at 2009 Detroit Auto Show

• Competes with: Every cool-looking exotic car on the market, plus some higher-priced, less-cool-and-exotic ones
• Looks like: An Italian sports car … with four doors and a plug-in hybrid drivetrain
• Drivetrain: Two 201-hp electric motors powered by a lithium-ion battery and generator (generator driven by a GM Ecotec 265-hp, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder) and no transmission; all-wheel drive
• Hits dealerships: End of 2009

Fisker Automotive took last year's Detroit auto show by surprise with a plug-in hybrid concept called the Karma. The surprise wasn't that it was a plug-in — a technology that a year later still hasn't hit the market from any manufacturer — it was the fact that the Karma looked like an Italian supercar, and that it had four doors yet still looked stunning. Now, the Irvine, Calif.-based company has rolled out its 2010 production version of the Karma. Last year's concept was actually more of a prototype, so the real thing looks just as stunning.

The Karma is basically a battery-powered electric car with an onboard range-extending generator, not unlike Chevrolet's much-anticipated Volt. It's technically also a series hybrid because the generator's added power can increase the car's speed when combined with the juice from the battery. Running on battery alone — called Stealth mode — the car can reach 95 mph. In Sport mode, with the gas engine generating electricity, the top speed is 125 mph (electronically limited from a possible 150 mph, according to Fisker). Regardless of mode, the 0-60 time is 5.8 seconds. The two motors drive all four wheels, and safety features like antilock brakes and an electronic stability system are standard.

The car's range on battery power is 50 miles. A full charge can take as little as eight to 10 hours with 240 volts (the amount some electric ovens, dryers and furnaces use), or in excess of 15 hours on a 110-volt household current. The Karma's large roof is a solar panel that helps hold a charge when the car is parked outside. Fisker says it's even good for four to five miles of range per week — if it's sunny all day, every day.

After exploring options stateside, Fisker decided to hand Karma manufacturing duties to Valmet Automotive of Finland. The company hopes to sell 15,000 of the cars per year. Fisker has pre-sold more than 1,000 since the prototype's debut last year, with another surge expected with this unveiling. Even if it weren't a cutting-edge hybrid, an exotic sports car like the Karma would be a bargain at $87,900. With the government tax credit, it's $80,400.

More photos below.

Fisker Sunset Electric Concept Coming to Detroit

Fisker, the custom-car builder behind the radical all-electric Karma, has an all-new concept in the works. Set to debut alongside the production Karma at the Detroit auto show in just over a week, the Sunset concept will feature the same lithium-ion-powered setup as the Karma, but beyond that all we have to go on is this teaser image.

The Karma’s drivetrain offers a 50-mile range on a single charge, but it packs the equivalent of a maximum 408 hp for those 50 miles. 

Luxury Hybrid Maker Fisker Raises $65 Million

When we saw the Fisker Karma plug-in electric hybrid concept car at the Detroit auto show earlier this year, we were pretty skeptical it would ever be built. But today the company announced it has raised a very real $65 million in funding. Most of the money comes from Qatar Investment Autority, which describes itself thus on its website: “The QIA was founded by the State of Qatar in 2003 to strengthen the country's economy by diversifying into new asset classes.”

Qatar is a small, wealthy country bordering Saudi Arabia. It exports both oil and natural gas. It’s interesting that the country is investing in a hybrid manufacturer with so much already invested in oil.

The Fisker Karma, however, is not all about fuel efficiency. It will be a $80,000 sport sedan with a sub-6-second 0-60 speed that works in a way similar to the upcoming Chevy Volt. Check out the link below for a full photo gallery.

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2008 Detroit Auto Show: Fisker Karma Plug-In Hybrid