Fisker Karma Makes Global Road Debut

What’s the latest news about Fisker Automotive?

Well, there is plenty going on with the Irvine, CA-based company who is working diligently to bring its luscious full sized sedan to the market next year. Two weeks ago, at the Mazda Raceway in Monterey, California, a prototype of the Karma made its driving debut. This was an amazing feat given that a concept of the car was shown for the first time at the 2008 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit.

Tops 100 MPH On The Track

This time next year, the first Fisker Karmas are expected to be in the hands of its customers.

The prototype vehicle was put through the paces, allowing the 403 horsepower all electric vehicle to top 100 mph, utilizing both Sport (hybrid) and Stealth (electric only) modes as it traversed the track. Bernhard Koehler, Fisker Automotive co-founder and COO, was behind the wheel.

The Karma, when it goes into production next year on a Finnish assembly line, will be the first production plugin electric vehicle (PHEV) to hit the market. The car will go from zero to sixty in just six seconds and have a top speed of 125 mph. Importantly, the Karma’s fuel mileage will easily eclipse 100 mph with carbon emissions much lower than the current crop of hybrids plying our roads today.

First Deliveries Summer 2010

Fisker Automotive is currently taking orders for the Fisker Karma, with the first customer deliveries expected to begin in Summer 2010. The sedan is powered by a lithium-ion battery pack with a range of fifty miles on the battery alone. To extend its range, the Karma will tap a small four-cylinder gasoline engine, a 260 horsepower motor that will work in tandem with an on-board generator.

The Karma’s potent gas engine combined with a pair of electric motors make up what the company calls its Q-Drive powertrain, exclusive to the Fisker Karma and future models. According to Fisker, the Q-Drive system will deliver the ultimate combination of performance, range and efficiency.

Now Forming: U.S. Retail Network

Initial sales of the Karma will be made to customers in Europe and the United States. In the U.S., Fisker is putting the finishing touches on a dealer network that will span from coast to coast.  Each of the dealers already chosen have experience working with premium brands and many are family owned businesses.  Some of the retail locations must still be finalized but each state (as well as one shop in British Columbia) have been identified.

Source:  Fisker Automotive

See Also — Fisker Funding Finalized: Series C, That Is

Carlos Ghosn Bullish On Vehicle Electrification

It took approximately ten years to sell one million hybrid vehicles in the US, a number that is probably far below what advocates envisioned when the technology began to be mass marketed in the late 1990s. Back then, Honda and Toyota had the market to themselves, with few competitors on the horizon. Even today the two automakers sell far more hybrid models then their competitors, but that may soon change.

The Advancement of Hybrid Technology

Hybrid technology has been picked up by Ford who five years ago introduced its Ford Escape Hybrid and has since expanded to include a Ford Fusion Hybrid in the mix. GM and Chrysler have each jumped in while Volkswagen is leaning on its clean diesel technology to provide an alternative to gas powered vehicles.

Carlos Ghosn who is chairman and chief executive officer for both Renault and Nissan aims to be the first automaker to mass produce electric cars. While at least one Chinese automaker, BYD, is already producing electric vehicles as is Tesla Motors and soon, Fisker Automotive, Nissan says that it plans to put its first electric model on the market next year.

Not A Chevy Volt: Cheaper

According to the International Business Times, Nissan will roll out a model in 2010, at a price that makes ‘sense’ to the consumer. Ghosn pointed out that the GM Volt (Chevrolet Volt) will cost about $40,000 which is too high given that consumers can purchase an oil powered car for $15-20,000.

Quoting Mr. Ghosn: “Somebody’s got to invest massively and bring to the market zero emission cars, and we think we can do it,” Ghosn told CNBC in an interview from Tokyo. “We have the batteries and we are at the point where within 2010, cars that we will be putting in the U.S. market will be totally attractive to the consumers.”

Consolidation Underway in the Auto Industry

Ghosn also noted that the global auto industry is in a position to consolidate, pointing out that Fiat and Chrysler are in talks while other automakers are collaborating on technology. For example, last year BMW and Mercedes agreed to share some components, a step that some suggest will lead to the German arch-rivals eventually merging. Though that move could be many years off it could be pushed forward if economic forces create a sense of urgency.

With the world embroiled in a deep recession, further moves to join companies together could be on the horizon.

See Also — Nissan Poised to Eliminate Jobs, Transfer Production

Avoiding Insolvency, Tesla Motors Borrows $40 Million

America’s all-electric car maker – Tesla Motors – has been wowing fans ever since its small two seat sports car finally rolled off a British assembly line earlier this summer. Lots of delays pushed back the car’s release, resulting in Tesla bleeding through more cash than it had expected to before production got going.

As a result of the delays, Tesla’s financial picture suddenly became very bleak as cash reserves dwindled to below ten million dollars, a small amount of money on hand even for a tiny automaker. Talk that the company would seek bankruptcy protection began to surface, but those fears have now been allayed thanks to new funding that has become available.

Prior to its most recent announcement, Tesla Motors had received cash injections of $145 million from private investors including tens of millions of dollars contributed by Elon Musk who is the company’s chairman and chief executive officer. Indeed, it was Musk and a team of private investors who coughed up the most recent forty million dollars which should be enough money to keep the car company going for the long run.

So far, just fifty Tesla Roadsters have been produced, an all-electric sports car with a phenomenal zero to sixty speed of just 3.5 seconds. Priced at $109,000, the Roadster has some 1200 buyers on its waiting list, people who have put down deposits for the rare sports car.

Tesla says that the new funding will be used to speed up Roadster production while freeing up funding for a second vehicle, the S Model. The “S” is a four door sedan that the company plans to build at a new factory being assembled near San Jose, California. That car was to make its debut near the end of 2010, but production isn’t likely to begin much before summer 2011.

The Tesla Roadster is the first of what will likely become several electric cars produced by a variety of manufacturers worldwide. Fisker Automotive has a sedan in progress, while General Motors will be producing the Chevrolet Volt, a small sedan that should be ready late 2010. Toyota, Nissan, and Chrysler each have several models in the planning and/or production pipeline, while other manufacturers including BMW are currently testing pre-production models of their own.