Good Karma: Fisker investors reportedly bring in $85 million in capital
Fisker Karma - Click above for a hi-res gallery
Hybrid propulsion or not, wunder-designer Henrik Fisker couldn't have picked a worse time be to starting a new car company...especially in the United States. Fisker has been adamant that his company will get off the ground and begin production of its much-hyped Karma electric sedan and S convertible, but without the capital invested, speculation was that his efforts could run out of steam prematurely. However, Automotive News is reporting that the upstart automaker has received a healthy cash injection of $85 million to help get production started.
The funds come from two investors: Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which was one of the first financial firms to invest in Fisker's enterprise, and a new investor Eco-Drive Capital Partners LLC. Will it be enough to get the Karma out on the street? Eighty-five mil is a big hunk of cash, but as any Detroit veteran could tell you, big money has a habit of running out fast in this business, and it generally takes hundreds of millions of dollars to launch new models.
Gallery: Detroit 2009: 2010 Fisker Karma
Gallery: Detroit 2009: Fisker Karma S Concept
[Source: Automotive News – subs. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
homunculus 5:03PM (4/13/2009)
Dear Fisker,
Fisk the grille.
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Sea Urchin 5:06PM (4/13/2009)
Well you could say the same of the Mazeratti grill, they look similar. Neither is a looker.
The Doctor 5:10PM (4/13/2009)
Of course it takes hundreds of millions to launch a new model in Detroit - those private jets don't come for free.
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matt 5:53PM (4/13/2009)
Selling, or being forced to sell, those jets was one of the biggest mistakes they could make. In the long run it was a very poor business decision. Big companies need private aircraft, it really is as simple as that.
letstakeawalk 9:51PM (4/13/2009)
@ Matt
Exactly right. When your business spans the globe, it is even more important for the decision-makers and deal-makers to be able to travel wherever, whenever.
Private jets are a vital part of international commerce.
JZeke 5:29PM (4/13/2009)
If I'm in a position to drop $87k on a car when this debuts, I'm getting one. However, that is probably double any reasonable expectation in this economy.
I hope they make it.
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JeremyClarkson 5:36PM (4/13/2009)
Massive financial aid close to production = most likely a huge increase in price
It's weird that the company is gambling so hard with this vehicle. I mean, the car is okay, yet the market this car is aiming is not discovered at all....it's too risky :(
HotRodzNKustoms 5:34PM (4/13/2009)
I'll buy a Karma S, but only if it is actually being delivered and does whatever it is that they promise.
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bill jackman 5:40PM (4/13/2009)
The interior of the convertible looks like it was carved out of the finest marshmallows.
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goalieguy314 7:02PM (4/13/2009)
Too bad the car is still devastatingly ugly
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BoxerFanatic 10:13PM (4/13/2009)
+1
I thought Fisker was doing better than this, but this is not a well proportioned car. I like low and wide, but this looks so stretched, it looks distorted. Grille included.
The Tesla Model S is a better looking car, but again with the weird grille.
As for the underpinnings... I just wish for real AWD, a boxer engine, and a good looking body and interior.
Evidently that is too much to ask, because the car with that is looking worse, not better, and the cars that look good, like Tesla S, are in other ways untenable, too expensive, or otherwise not available or technically appealing under the skin.
Is it too much to ask for for everything to be in place just right, within the context of a price point?
At least one thing Fisker has going for him, is that he has investors willing to be capitalists, and not begging for government cash and depending on that for private enterprise operations, like Tesla, GM, Chrysler, and so many others, and other industries as well.
Vernon 8:37PM (4/13/2009)
Man, how I would love to see them succeed, if for no other reason than to see that sly grin/moustache of a grill creeping down the highway. It may not be classically beauty from the front but the proportions along the rest of the car are first class. Here's hoping I can make enough cash after school to make the choice between this and the German big boys.
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trevor 8:44PM (4/13/2009)
This car is way better looking than the tesla, and plus acleast fisker managed to get some capital, tesla is such a horribly run company it is unbelievable, whenever they are in the wall street journal it usually for mistakes instead of innovation... fisker > tesla
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letstakeawalk 10:00PM (4/13/2009)
Great observation. Fisker is run by Henrik Fisker, a world-renowned car-designer with decades of experience in the industry (and his own coachbuilder), and is partially owned by not only a major supplier of hybrid-electric drivetrains (QTWW), but also a global provider of solar-cell panels (Asola) and a maker of lithium batteries (Advanced Lithium Power). Fisker is in a very good position, being the sales vehicle (literally) for the products of the future green economy that President Obama has promised.
Tesla, OTOH, is a run by a fellow who made his money by starting PayPal (a company I use regularly) which allows us to pay for things over the internet. Sure he makes rockets too...
I wish Tesla well, but since QTWW is a publicly-traded company, it's a whole lot easier to invest money in them - and by them I mean Fisker.