Fisker taken over by a Chinese automotive supplier
- After having become insolvent and placed on auction in October 2013 by the U.S. government, Fisker was finally taken over by the Chinese automotive supplier Wanxiang.
- Fisker was an independent American manufacturer, founded in 2007, four years after Tesla. The only model which was launched ( in 2008) and produced until today was the electric segment F sedan Karma, equipped with two electric motors and a range extender. Its positioning was in direct competition with the Tesla S Model, but Karma did not experience the same success as the S model.
- The Fisker Karma was produced in Finland at the assembly plant of the company Valmet (which used to assemble the Porsche Boxster / Cayman). Nearly 3000 vehicles were produced in 2012, the same year that Tesla produced 3,300 units (but Tesla manufactured almost 24 000 vehicles in 2013).
- Wanxiang is a Chinese automotive supplier. It owns the company A123 Systems, which used to supply the batteries of Fisker’s model .
- By acquiring the Californian carmaker, Wanxiang aims to produce about 2,000 Karma yearly and sell them in the U.S.A.(1 000 per year), Europe (500 per year) and China (500 per year). The question is where these vehicles will be produced. Actually the Valmet factory is now saturated with the production of the Mercedes A Class. Wanxiang, which committed itself to produce in the USA , does not have any vehicle assembly plant. To meet its commitment, Wanxiang will have either to buy an existing plant, or build one (which seems difficult in view of the small quantities to produce), or develop a partnership with a local car assembler (partnership similar to the one planned by Chinese automaker JAC with the American producer GreenTech Automotive).
