About 100 Karma plug-in hybrid cars will be built this year by Fisker Automotive Inc. and Valmet Automotive that will be used for testing purposes, according to Ray Lane, managing partner at storied U.S. venture capital fund Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (a major investor).
These cars will be tested internally and crash tested, among other testing methods. Some customers will receive the cars to test them on real roads. Production of the Karma cars is set to be ramped up next year. Lane, an early stage investor in Fisker, said that it has plans to produce 70 to 100 vehicles this year at Valmet’s factory, which is the manufacturer of the Porsche Boxster and Cayman as well as Think’s City minicar. Testing will start this year while mass production will begin in February, with a goal of 15,000 vehicles to be built annually. The Karma, a rechargeable luxury sports car that has a price tag of $87,900 in the US and 78,780 euros ($96,415) in Europe, is claimed to be able to go 80km (about 50 miles) on a single charge in electric-only mode. But in hybrid-mode, the car has a total range of 482km (300 miles).
[via autonews – sub. required]
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