Fisker Automotive is a U.S. automotive maker based in Anaheim, California. The company was co-founded by Henrik Fisker with Bernhard Koehler and Quantum Technologies in 2007. They were first supported by the small investment from Gianfranco Pizzuto, an Italian businessman, and Palo Alto Investors. Fisker designed a number of premium cars including the Aston Martin DB9 and V8 Vintage, BMW Z8, and Artega GT. He was also a design director at Aston Martin.
The first product of the company was the Fisker Karma, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, one of the world’s firsts. This vehicle debuted at the 2008 North American International Auto Show. It created the premium car segment wherein most manufacturers have announced that they would compete. However, the production was halted in November 2012 due to financial issues. Since 2011, there were 2,450 Karmas that were built.
The company originally planned to sell the Karma in late 2009. However, after repeated delays, the Environmental Protection Agency was only able to certify the car’s vehicle emissions and drive range in October of 2011. After that, the delivery of production vehicles commenced in the USA.
In the summer of 2012, the company stopped the production of the vehicle, hoping to acquire new investment. Matters were further complicated after its battery supplier, A123 Systems, declared bankruptcy, the costs of which involved a recall and repairs to customer cars, and the resignation of the company’s CEO and co-founder Henrik Fisker.
With the production not re-commencing after five months, without announcing a date of going back to production, the planned production of the second model Fisker Atlantic was postponed.
In November 2013, the company filed for bankruptcy. In February 2014, it was acquired by Chinese auto-parts conglomerate Wanxiang Group. The new owner claimed that it can restart production, estimating that they can sell more than 1,000 Karmas in the first 18 months in the U.S., and 500 in Europe.
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