Fisker Automotive

This article is about the company founded by Henrik Fisker in 2007. For the company founded by him in 2016, see Fisker Inc. For other uses, see Fisker (disambiguation).

Fisker Automotive
Company typePrivate corporation
IndustryAutomotive
Luxury plug-in hybrid cars
FoundedAugust 2007; 17 years ago (2007-08)[1][2] (as Fisker Automotive)
Anaheim, California, U.S.
FoundersHenrik Fisker
Bernhard Koehler[3]
Defunct2014 (2014)
FateDeclared bankruptcy in November 2013; assets bought by Wanxiang in February 2014 as foundation of Karma Automotive; Henrik Fisker subsequently founded Fisker Inc in 2016.
SuccessorKarma Automotive
Fisker Inc.
HeadquartersAnaheim, California, U.S.[4]
Key people
Tony Posawatz (CEO)[5]
Bernhard Koehler (COO)[6]
Products
Number of employees
53 (March 2013)[7][8]

Fisker Automotive was an American automobile company. It produced the Fisker Karma, which was one of the world's first production luxury plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The company was founded in 2007 by Henrik Fisker, a Danish automobile designer.

The company received significant private and public investment, including a $529 million loan from the federal government. The company raised over $1 billion from private investors such as the Kleiner Perkins venture capital firm.[9]

However, it repeatedly missed production deadlines, and production of the Fisker Karma was suspended in November 2012 with about 2,450 Karmas built since 2011 and just over 2,000 cars sold worldwide.[10][11] The New York Times described the company as the "Solyndra of the electric car industry" and a "debacle".[12] The company's federal loan was suspended in 2011; the government recovered some of the invested funds, but nevertheless took a $139 million loss.[13]

In February 2014, Fisker Automotive's Karma vehicle design, tooling, and a manufacturing facility in Delaware were purchased by Chinese auto parts conglomerate Wanxiang Group. In 2016, Wanxiang renamed the holding company for the assets of Fisker Automotive Karma Automotive.[14]

  1. ^ "The Documented History of Fisker Automotive - PrivCo". Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference wired1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Fact Sheet Archived September 5, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Fisker Automotive
  4. ^ "Fisker Strikes Deal for HQ in Anaheim | Orange County Business Journal". www.ocbj.com. January 22, 2011. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  5. ^ "Tony Posawatz replaces Tom LaSorda as Fisker CEO". Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  6. ^ "Biography of Fisker Automotive COO Bernhard Koehler". Fiskerbuzz.com. September 15, 2009. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
  7. ^ "Fisker sued for sudden layoffs". USA TODAY. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  8. ^ "The sad long story of Fisker Automotive, 'the largest VC-backed debacle in U.S. history'". April 17, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  9. ^ Chernova, Yuliya; Ramsey, Mike (April 24, 2013). "How the Wheels Came Off for Fisker". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  10. ^ Bradley Berman (March 13, 2013). "Henrik Fisker Resigns From Fisker Automotive". The New York Times. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
  11. ^ Deepa Seetharaman and Paul Lienert (June 17, 2013). "Special Report: Bad Karma: How Fisker burned through $1.4 billion on a 'green' car". Reuters. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
  12. ^ Vlasic, Bill (April 24, 2013). "Breaking Down on the Road to Electric Cars". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  13. ^ "Fisker bankruptcy: Feds to lose $139 million on Fisker Automotive". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  14. ^ "Judge Approves Fisker Asset Sale to Wanxiang". The New York Times.