Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Sedans/Saloons, Sports/GTs, Green, Plants/Manufacturing
Fisker sends Finland good Karma
Back in July we told you that Fisker had tabbed Valmet Automotive to build its upcoming Karma. Now we get word that all of the contracts have been finalized and production looks certain. Valmet will be doing all of the engineering and manufacturing for the Karma, that sexy new four-door plug-in hybrid sports sedan designed by ex-Aston Martin designer, Henrik Fisker. Production should start about a year from now, in late 2009. The first cars should show up Stateside, with European deliveries following soon after, in early 2010. The companies are planning an annual production of about 15,000 cars worldwide.
The $80k sedan uses lithium ion batteries, and owners should expect about 50 miles of driving before the gas engine ever kicks in. Range should rival the Chevy Volt at 350 miles per charge. Unlike the Volt, however, the Karma will have a top speed of 125 mph, and a 0-60 time of about 5.8 seconds. Even with the price of gas plummeting, we think Fisker should have little trouble selling 15,000 of these beauties a year, even at $80k. Full press release after the jump.
Gallery: Fisker Karma
[Source: Valmet Automotive]
PRESS RELEASE
Valmet Automotive and Fisker Automotive have signed the cooperation agreement
Valmet Automotive and an American premium car company, Fisker Automotive Inc. have signed the final contract to manufacture Fisker Karma vehicles in Finland. Valmet Automotive will be the engineering and manufacturing supplier for Fisker Automotive.
Fisker Karma is a new four-door plug-in hybrid sports sedan and its production is planned to start in the Q4 of 2009. The first cars will be delivered to North America and the deliveries to Europe are planned to start 2010. The annual production is projected to reach 15,000 cars.
For the production of Fisker Karma, a new body welding line will be built at Valmet Automotive. The painting and assembly process can be easily adapted to the production of electric and hybrid cars.
"The agreement is very significant for us and our employment situation in the years to come", says Ilpo Korhonen, President of Valmet Automotive. "With the planned full production volume the cooperation with Fisker Automotive will employ some 500 blue collar workers at Valmet Automotive."
"Fisker Automotive and Valmet Automotive make a great, professional team. The schedule is demanding, but I am confident that with good cooperation the production will start in schedule. A hybrid drive train, battery technology and a new body design with light weight materials is a great challenge to our engineering and production teams. Our supplier quality management team is also involved in the project."
"We are pleased with the current progress in this working relationship and know that we have the team that will help us meet our production goal", says Fisker Automotive COO, Bernhard Koehler.
"We are very pleased to have the final contract signed and are looking forward to a long business relationship with Valmet Automotive", says Fisker Automotive CEO, Henrik Fisker.
Fisker Automotive is a privately owned American car company. The company was founded in 2007 as joint venture of Fisker Coachbuild, LLC and Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Inc., the leading supplier of powertrain engineering for electric vehicles.
Valmet Automotive is a provider of automotive engineering and manufacturing services of premium cars. In nearly 40 years the company has produced over 1,000,000 high-quality vehicles in Finland. The cars have been delivered worldwide. Today Valmet Automotive manufactures Porsche Boxster and Porsche Cayman for Porsche AG. The company is a part of Metso Corporation.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
doc b 5:28PM (11/15/2008)
Chassis#695 here I come. So long big oil.
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dukeisduke 5:28PM (11/15/2008)
The grille reminds me of a De Soto.
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the_garynator 3:16PM (11/16/2008)
the grill looks like someone took a poo and said, "this would look good as a grill for a car"
Bungle 2:58PM (11/16/2008)
It reminds me of Gina Gershon's mouth.
(NSFW) http://www.wallpapergate.com/data/media/593/Gina_Gershon_012.jpg
arturo 5:31PM (11/15/2008)
The grill reminds me of Hitler's mustache. the car looks good though. I guess the mustache is a sign of superiority. I am being sarcastic.
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chrisdavis 2:22AM (11/16/2008)
Too wide for Hitler. I'd have to go with Salvador Dali.
http://www.litobac.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/salvador-dali.jpg
Mike 8:37PM (11/15/2008)
you don't have a fking clue what hitler's mustache looked like, do you?
Bungle 2:15PM (11/16/2008)
Haha, nice one, Mike. I think a BMW 3-Series grill looks a lot more like Hitler's 'stache.
arturo 12:51AM (11/17/2008)
Look Mike.
There is a difference between attacking a person and attacking a comment. in this case you insulted me. go to youtube or somewhere else where you can do that as you please. I consider autoblog a more serious website. I didnt said it looks like Hitler's mustache, I said that it reminds me of Hitler's mustache. still no reason to insult me.
BLS 5:34PM (11/15/2008)
It will be interesting to see what happens with the Volt with gas prices so so low. This car is so beautiful and luxurious that at 80K it is a bargain (in my opinion).
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Thomas Brown 6:00PM (11/15/2008)
Hmm... $1.2B annual revenue could sure get them moving. As 'BLS' says, it should be interesting how these cars do with oil price in the basement now.
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RamblinReck89 6:18PM (11/15/2008)
Hmm...building a car that people would want to buy, and then making it "green." There's too much common sense here. It has to fail.
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Elux Troxl 6:38PM (11/15/2008)
Tucker.
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Everett 6:57PM (11/15/2008)
This will definitely sell to the left-leaning celeb crowd; they're tired of showing-up at Premieres in a drab-looking Prius, and they get the enviro-conscious rep for it. (that was a lot of hiphens, wasn't it?)
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mkevin88 12:21AM (11/16/2008)
im guessing it would also appeal to many other people who don't fit into that category.....including right leaning un-popular people
Soccer Mom 7:27PM (11/15/2008)
The question I have is about investments vs. results.
It seems that pretty much everyone can invest a few million dollars and make a production supercar/super electric car or other great drivable things in noticeable volumes. All those vehicles are loaded to a brim with all the necessities, latest technology, features and have a decent price tag.
Now we look at the established auto companies. Designing and launching a single car model takes billions (if not tens of billions). And then you get anemic Toyota, horrible Chrysler or ugly Ford.
In that respect, Tesla, Fisker, Lotus and other small manufacturers have efficiency 100 times greater than GM, Toyota, Ford or Chrysler. 100,000s employees and $10B price tag accomplish the same results as a company with 100 employees with $50M.
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Jon 7:17AM (11/16/2008)
The difference is getting a "complete" automobile. All one needs to do is take a look at the variety of different low-volume sportscar manufacturers out there to see that it is fairly easy to design a car. But to design a car that is reliable for everyday use, durable enough to last 100k+ miles, and tested to the highest safety standards is a whole different matter.
Arturo 6:27PM (11/17/2008)
small companies exist because they borrow things like engine, transmission, and other stuff that big companies helped developed. in other words small companies are not self sufficient.
RockStoneSteel 8:54PM (11/15/2008)
That hideous grill just ruins the whole car. I can't decide if it looks more like a handlebar mustache or a grinning teenager with braces.
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Level 9:20PM (11/15/2008)
bigger better and cheaper then a Tesla? lol
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