Fisker Automotive

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Fisker karma

Fisker Automotive, Inc. was as American joint venture ( JV ) by Henrik Fisker founded. Fisker Coachbuild LLC and the automotive supplier and engineering service provider Quantum Technologies from Irvine (California), which specializes in alternative drives and the manufacture of hybrid electric vehicles , are involved . Fisker was financially supported by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers .

The first Fisker Karma model was presented at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in February 2008 . After several delays, immediate production preparation began at the Finnish contract manufacturer Valmet Automotive in March 2011. The first car was delivered in July 2011 to actor Leonardo DiCaprio .

Until the summer of 2012, the company was managed by the Danish- born automobile designer Henrik Fisker . Henrik Fisker worked on the BMW Z8 , the Aston Martin DB9 Coupé and Aston Martins V8 Vantage .

Economic difficulties, sale and restart

Economic difficulties

In 2012 Fisker Automotive ran into major economic difficulties. The bankruptcy of its battery supplier A123 Systems had made it impossible to continue production of the only sales driver Fisker Karma. The company also said it had been hit financially by recall costs and lost supplies due to damage from Hurricane Sandy. In any case, in 2013 the company was unable to repay a remaining debt of $ 168 million on a government loan from the US Department of Energy in the amount of originally $ 192 million on time. In 2013, the marketing of vehicles as Fisker ended .

Sale of the company

The Department then initiated the foreclosure auction and set a minimum bid of $ 30 million. Reuters reported on October 10, 2013 that there were three interested parties, the German Fritz Nols AG , the billionaire Richard Li from Hong Kong and a Chinese group of bidders with the large Chinese automotive supplier Wanxiang Group, for which the former Ford boss Bob Lutz also appears. Ultimately, Wanxiang acquired the company for $ 149.2 million.

Restart

Wanxiang renamed the company to Karma Automotive in 2015 and decided to re-release the Fisker Karma in a technically modified form. For more information, see Karma Automotive .

Quantum and coach build

Fisker Latigo at the IAA 2005 in Frankfurt.

While Quantum Technologies is responsible for the drive integration called Q-Drive (combination of battery, battery management, electric and combustion engine) , Fisker Coachbuild LLC , also run by Fisker, is responsible for the rest of the car .

Quantum

According to the manufacturer, the Q-Drive system was created as part of a development for the American Department of Defense.

Fisker coachbuild

Coachbuild LLC leads (similar to Porsche ) from development contracts for other automobile manufacturers and offered even the sports car conversions Fisker Latigo CS (based BMW 6 ) for 195 thousand to 235 thousand dollars and the Fisker Tramonto roadster for 253,000 US dollars based on the Mercedes-Benz SL 55 AMG at , both of which were limited to 150 copies.

Fisker Karma model

The first model is the Fisker Karma , a four-door sports sedan that was produced at Valmet Automotive in Finland from June 2011 to 2013. After the termination of the construction contracts from Porsche, this car was the only follow-up order for Valmet up to the production of the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class from 2013. The name Karma is based on the corresponding Sanskrit word .

The car has two electric operating modes, an economy mode, which is called Stealth Drive in military jargon , and a sport mode, Sport Drive . Quantum Technologies is still doing defense contracts and is currently developing a stealth vehicle called the Aggressor Alternative Mobility Vehicle (AMV) for the US Department of Defense.

The body is 4970 mm long, 1984 mm wide and 1310 mm high.

During the UN climate conference in Copenhagen , Fisker loaned a working pre-production copy of the Karma to the Danish royal family. Frederik of Denmark used the car on the way to the conference.

Fisker Surf at the IAA 2011

A station wagon version of the Karma called Fisker Surf was presented at the IAA 2011 .

Fisker Karma S

Fisker Karma S at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.

In January 2009, Fisker introduced the Fisker Karma S , a convertible version of the Karma. The S stands for Sunset.

The car has essentially the same technology as the Karma, also drives 50 miles on its own, but accelerates from 0 to 60 miles in 5.8 seconds and reaches a top speed of 201 km / h (125 miles per hour).

For longer journeys, he has a 2-liter, 4-cylinder, turbocharged engine that General Motors has bought, which produces electricity and supplies it to the lithium-ion battery when required. With one tank of fuel, the additional motor extends the range to 300 miles. The same engine is used in the Chevrolet Cobalt SS.

Lawsuit from Tesla

In April 2008, Fisker Automotive was sued by Tesla Motors for industrial espionage. In 2007, Henrik Fisker developed the body design for a four-door plug-in hybrid planned by Tesla Motors for Tesla. Tesla Motors claims that Fisker accepted the $ 875,000 contract to obtain classified information from Tesla. Prior to working for Tesla, Fisker had no experience with hybrid technology. Fisker founded Fisker Automotive in late 2007. Arbitration proceedings were initiated at Fisker's request. The dispute was ruled in Fisker's favor.

Economic situation

In the summer of 2012, Fisker stopped production in the USA for five months. In March 2013, 75% of the workforce was laid off and in April a law firm specializing in bankruptcy law was hired.

The total cost divided by the vehicles produced means that each Karma costs $ 660,000 and far exceeds the retail price. A total of approximately 1,800 vehicles were sold at prices between $ 77,000 and $ 100,000.

In total, Fisker has received $ 1.2 billion in public subsidies and third party financial investments.

various

Ashton Kutcher drives a Fisker Karma as billionaire Walden Schmidt in the ninth season of the sitcom Two and a Half Men .

The rapper Childish Gambino refers in his song IV. Sweatpants to the car brand Fisker.

literature

Web links

Commons : Fisker  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b John Markoff: Tesla Motors Files Suit Against Competitor Over Design Ideas . In: The New York Times . April 15, 2008, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com ).
  2. ↑ Press release Valmet Automotive, March 1, 2011: Valmet Automotive launches Fisker Karma production in March 2011
  3. ^ David R. Baker, July 26, 2011: Meet the Karma. SFGate home of the San Francisco Chronicle
  4. ↑ Björn Tolksdorf: Fisker goes to Chinese supplier - Karma for sale at motor-talk.de from November 13, 2015
  5. ↑ d'Auto (Dutch, accessed December 25, 2016)
  6. ↑ Deepa Seetharaman, Martine Geller (authors), Carol Bishopric (editor): Fisker green-car government loan heads to auction block on reuters.com on October 10, 2015
  7. ↑ Uli Baumann: Fisker sold to Wanxiang. Electric car maker goes to Chinese. on auto-motor-und-sport.de on February 17, 2014 ( Memento of the original from August 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.auto-motor-und-sport.de
  8. ↑ The Robb Report: Fisker Karma S , April 2008, PDF page 5 (English)
  9. ↑ Edmunds Insideline, September 19, 2005: Snake Eyes: Fisker Coachbuild, LLC Rolls the Dice on a Stylish Return to Custom Coachbuilding ( Memento of the original from August 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked . Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.edmunds.com
  10. ^ A b The Robb Report: Supreme Green Machines.
  11. ^ Quantum Technologies: Military / Defense. ( Memento from November 13, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ^ Automobilemag, December 16, 2009: Danish Prince Is First to Sample Fisker Karma Hybrid.
  13. ^ A b Lawrence Ulrich: Fisker's California Dreaming . In: The New York Times . January 13, 2009, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com ).
  14. ↑ CNET , June 12, 2008 (English): Tesla Motors-Fisker Auto case to go to arbitration
  15. ↑ news.cnet.com, November 4, 2008: Tesla Motors loses trade secrets case against Fisker , accessed October 21, 2013.
  16. ↑ autoblog.com, March 31, 2013: Fisker hires bankruptcy team after worker furlough , accessed October 21, 2013.
  17. ↑ autoblog.com April 19, 2013: Each Karma ´cost´ Fisker 660,000 to produce , accessed October 21, 2013.
  18. ↑ Focus, April 8, 2013: End for Fisker and Coda Automotive? Premium Stromer remain an eco dream , called October 21, 2013.
  19. ↑ Childish Gambino (Ft. Problem) - IV. Sweatpants. Retrieved May 22, 2018 .