Considering the two fledgling automaker's past history, it's not terribly surprising that Henrik Fisker would want to distance his company from Tesla Motors. Recall that Fisker had originally been tasked with penning the design for the Tesla S electric sedan but later unveiled the Karma after being dismissed by the Silicon Valley automaker. There was a lawsuit, which was ruled in Fisker's favor by an arbitration court.

Speaking at a meeting of the Western Automotive Journalists Association, Fisker said, "The full-electric car [like the Tesla Roadster] is a niche market. Plug-in hybrids have a much bigger market." Of course, not everyone agrees that PHEVs are the way to go. Fisker goes on to say that his company's latest business plan will lead to profits at just 5,000 annual sales, though the goal remains 15,000 sales per year.

What about the Chevy Volt, which uses a similar range-extended electric architecture as the Fisker Karma? Somewhat disparagingly, Fisker suggests that GM's future EV won't really be competition for the Fisker, saying only, "It's a Chevy." He's got a point, though, as the Volt is likely to cost about half what Fisker plans to ask for the Karma and surely won't fit into the same luxury category as Fisker's green machine.


[Source: Hybrid Cars]

The Detroit Auto Show, known officially as the North American International Auto Show, is always the biggest car show of the year. In 2009, though, the event wasn't quite as busy or as populated as it's been in past years. The whole down economy thing - plus problems with the venue - played a role in the downsizing, but organizers of the 2010 event are starting to hint that the next show will be bigger and better than 2009.

The Detroit News is saying that some automakers that skipped the show in 2009 - Ferrari, Land Rover and Nissan - might return next year. There were 51 brands represented in 2009. On the green car front, the changes of note include a bigger and better EcoXperience (the smelly fake forest driving area in the basement) where alternative fueled vehicles could be taken for test drives; and the first appearance of Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, which is hoping to sell small trucks in the U.S. soon. Also, a private event held during the show and designed to showcase big ticket cars called the "Gallery" might double in size in 2010. Last year, two Maybachs, one Lamborghini and one Fisker vehicle were sold during the Gallery.



Photos copyright ©2009 Sebastian Blanco / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Detroit News]

Telsa's Miami store is scheduled to open soon, but it won't be the only high-end green car dealership in the city by the end of the year. Long-time local car dealer Warren Henry Zinn will open up a Fisker Chic showroom in Northern Dade County this fall, and the announcement of the new store gives us a better idea of what it'll be like to shop for the $87,900 Karma plug-in hybrid. Check it:


Warren Henry Zinn's Warren Henry Automobiles also sells Land Rover, Jaguar, Volvo and Infiniti vehicles. For a look at the difference in Fisker and Tesla's approaches to setting up dealerships, read this.


[Source: Reuters PR]

Plans for a new auto plant will be unveiled later this morning in Ouachita Parish in northeastern Louisiana. We guessed earlier that the plant would be for the Th!nk CIty EV, but a new report from local newspaper The News Star indicates otherwise. The paper writes, "The new company will manufacture high-mileage gas-powered cars, not electric or hybrids as some reports have suggested." Another possibility is that the plant will be used by Fisker, but their only vehicles right now - the Karma and the Karma S - are plug-in hybrids. Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret said that the plant will put the region "at the forefront of the effort to re-energize the American auto industry. This is a next generation manufacturing facility."

Whoever the plant is for, it will be welcome news for local workers. The News Stars says that the new plant will create 1,400 new jobs and pay an average of $40,000 a year. An official announcement should come down the wire soon, so stay tuned. Thanks to Mart for the tip!

UPDATE: The News Stars just Twittered that the company name is V-vehicle Co.

LATER UPDATE: As many details as we now have are available here.


[Source: The News Star]

Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker feels like the automotive world is at the beginning of a renaissance, and he believes now is the first time in 40 years that start-up automakers can compete and even thrive against the established OEMs. Fisker has already began to rage against the machine with the Karma. It looks great, promises terrific performance, and it plugs into a standard socket. The tree-hugging, tarmac-punishing Karma won't even be on the road until 2010, but that isn't stopping Fisker from dreaming big.

According to The Oakland Press, Fisker is looking to produce a lower cost, high volume plug-in that would likely thrust the Fisker brand into the mainstream. Fisker has already applied for federal loans with the Department of Energy, and if the request goes through, the vehicle could be on the road in 29 months. If the high volume Fisker sees the light of day, it could well be developed at the company's new technical center in Pontiac, Michigan, an area in desperate need of new jobs.



[Source: The Oakland Press]

To coincide with the ribbon cutting at the EnerDel lithium-ion battery plant in Indianapolis scheduled for later today, Ener1 has officially announced a new deal to possibly get the company's li-ion batteries into vehicles made by Fisker Automotive. Fisker has also signed a battery supply deal with Advanced Lithium Power.

Fisker and EnerDel have signed a letter of intent for a "potential long‐term battery supply agreement." What the final contract looks like will be determined by upcoming reliability and performance testing.

The devil will be in the details, but this is good news for Ener1. When Th!nk, Ener1's current biggest automotive partner, got into potential bankruptcy problems a few months ago, Ener1 espoused patience. Ener1 told us last year that they were working "to diversify our customers a little bit so we're not just solely dependent on Th!nk." Guess now the Indiana company is dependent on two alternative vehicle startups. Press release after the jump.


[Source: EnerDel]

Both Fisker Automotive and Tesla Motors are bringing electric-powered luxury sedans and convertibles to market, but each is going about it in entirely different ways. Fisker's strategy, steered by former BMW and Volvo sales director Vic Doolan, is to license independent dealerships – some of the biggest in the country – to sell their premium green automobiles on their behalf. Tesla's approach, on the other hand, is to set up factory-owned stores which the company likens to Apple stores.

Each approach, of course, has its benefits and drawbacks. For Fisker, makers of the Karma sedan and upcoming Karma Sunset convertible, selling through existing dealers promises to streamline the process and tap into professionals already savvy to the local market and capable of dealing with customer service and the exchange of used cars. Tesla, on the other hand, which makes the Roadster (pictured right at the company's LA store) and upcoming Model S, wants to more directly manage the sales and service process with its own retail outlets, but that comes at the cost of rapid expansion: so far Tesla's only got stores in California, though additional locations are planned for Chicago, New York, Seattle and Washington, London and more.


[Source: Automotive News – subs. req'd]

According to Henrik Fisker, the auto industry is due for some big changes. As the only representative of a young automaker participating in the Newsweek Future of Automotive Panel Discussion at the New York Auto Show last week, Fisker was the voice of the insurgent. For example, he said that, in 2020, plug-in hybrids will cost less than $20,000. This from the man who's selling them today for $90,000. Another thing that will really change is the way that electricity is generated in America. It will be much, much cleaner, and it's this clean energy that will be what is used to get people to and from work and school. Looking at all the factors, and Fisker said that the next 24 months will be tremendously important for the green scene. "The car industry needs to reinvent itself," he said, "and it needs to happen now."

Other members of the panel included Lou Rhodes, from Chrysler's ENVI and Kevin Smith, from Edmunds.com. Newsweek's Dan Lyons was the moderator. Read more about what was said after the jump.

It's probably a bit premature to be talking about future models from Fisker, considering the automaker's plug-in Karma and Karma S have yet to hit the market, but that's never stopped us before, right? According to Russell Datz, head PR man at Fisker Automotive, "One of the future products we have is something that is significantly less than what will be on the market first," though it may still "be a step above" the Chevy Volt and Tesla Model S.

That's not a ton of information to go by, unfortunately. The Chevy Volt is expected to come in around $40K or so in late 2010 when it's finally released (hopefully), and the Tesla Model S will cost at least $10K more than that. For comparison, the Fisker Karma will carry a starting sticker of $87,900. In other words, there's plenty of room between the base price of a Volt and the base price of a Karma. Where the lower-cost model from Fisker would fall in that range is anybody's guess.


[Source: Inside Line]

Following the announcement of 30 dealers signed up to sell its $87,900 luxury plug-in hybrids, Fisker Automotive has just announced another bit of good news: another $85 million in a fourth round of venture capital funding. Some of the money will come from Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, which has already invested in Fisker and helps explain Colin Powell's enjoyment of the car, and the New York-based Eco-Drive (Capital) Partners LLC, a European-American investment consortium. Fisker's official statement says that the financing should be finalized this month. Fisker Automotive CEO Henrik Fisker said he was proud to have Eco-Drive on board and that, "This investment is a strong endorsement of our business model and future product offerings in a challenging business environment." Those future product offerings include the Karma (above) and the Karma S convertible.


[Source: Fisker]