September 6, 2011. The Green Piece Column.
American automaker Fisker burst on to the scene several years ago with its first product, the Fisker Karma, expected to be among the world’s first true electric cars with extended range. However, four years after the company was founded the vehicle still wasn’t widely available to consumers prompting fears that Fisker would be yet another upstart carmaker that would never get off the ground.
However, in recent weeks Fisker has been back in the headlines after forming a partnership with BMW (see article), getting a notable celebrity endorser and lining up a new vehicle for the Frankfurt Motor Show. So is now the time for Fisker to finally make its mark?
Fisker: The story so far
Fisker introduced its Karma range-extended vehicle at the North American International Auto Show in 2008. It claimed a total range of 300miles with the first 50miles from electric charge only. After this point, a petrol engine would turn a generator to add the additional 250miles of range.
Its release was held up in 2008 however, due to a legal dispute with Tesla Motors. Tesla filed a lawsuit against Fisker alleging that it stole Tesla’s technology and was using it to develop the Karma. The dispute was not settled until early 2009 when Tesla was ordered to pay $1.1million in legal fees with the judge ruling in Fisker’s favour.
Its original plans for the Fisker Karma were to sell it in 2009. However, due to the Tesla legal dispute and funding delays, deliveries were put back significantly. In January 2010, the company secured an additional $115.3million in private equity funding to allow it to access a $528.7million loan from the US Department of Energy (see article). That loan was then closed in April of the same year (see article) and was put towards the production of two plug-in hybrid electric vehicles – the Fisker Karma and a line of family oriented models under the Project NINA programme.
Fisker’s goal for Project NINA is to build between 75,000 and 100,000 of a family of plug-in hybrid saloon cars by 2013 (see article). Over the last few months, Fisker has been focusing on a significant expansion plan with 40 electro-mechanical technicians hired between July and August; while a further 80 production employees are expected to be added by October. It marks a significant expansion of its site in Wilmington, Delaware, on the back of similar growth at its Anaheim, California headquarters. There it had 300 direct hires at the end of June – up from just 50 in January, 2010.
Back in the news
The last few weeks have been particularly significant for Fisker however, as it has found itself thrust firmly back into the spotlight.
It started with the news that Inception and Titanic start Leonardo Di Caprio was among the first to take delivery of the Fisker Karma at a cool cost of $100,000 meaning the Karma was being described as the new Hollywood “it” vehicle.
From there it announced a significant partnership with BMW for the supply of engines and other components for Project NINA vehicles. According to Fisker CEO and executive design director Henrik Fisker, the partnership is ideal because of BMW’s reputation for producing fuel efficient petrol engines – they will be employed within Fisker’s EVER (electric vehicle with extended range) technology.
Also on its way is a brand new production car which will be on display at the Frankfurt Motor Show next week. Not too much is known about the vehicle at this stage but it is expected to be a variant on today’s Karma saloon car and will feature the same range extending technology as well as an aluminium space-frame structure. It will go on sale next year and be built alongside the Karma at the company’s Valmet facility in Finland. Indeed Fisker has high hopes for the model, expecting to sell around 3,500 every year.
Our verdict – Fisker finally making the breakthrough
It seems the time for talk with Fisker is finally over and the company is ready to break out as a serious alternative to the established sports car makers we all know and love.
With the Fisker Karma already on the road, its new Frankfurt debutant scheduled to be released next year, and the Sunset cabriolet concept earmarked for 2015, these are exciting times for the company. Project NINA too is expected to produce three models of its own, which will go on sale in late 2013. So within four years there should be six Fisker models available.
What’s even more encouraging, however, is that Fisker seems to have established a smart business plan to make its vehicles available globally. It isn’t targeting a niche market in California and hoping to grow from there – on the contrary it has already outlined that 40 per cent of it sales should come from Europe, with a further 40 per cent in North America and the remaining 20 per cent in Asia.
With governments investing heavily in electric car infrastructure around the world, the growth of Fisker is perfectly timed. Once looking like little more than the stuff of fantasy, it may soon become the marquee sports car brand of the electrification era.
Faye Sunderland.
