GreenWire: The electric car developer Fisker Automotive Inc. has raised $115.3 million in private capital, funding that will allow the automaker to tap $528.7 million in conditional federal loans granted to it last year by the U.S. Energy Department.
The federal loans and private funds will help Fisker develop the Karma, the firm’s first plug-in hybrid car. The Karma, expected to retail for $87,900, will in turn lead to a lower-cost hybrid sedan, currently developed under the name Project Nina.
“Raising $115 million in these times speaks volumes about the value of our business model and the vast potential of plug-in hybrids,” said Henrik Fisker, the company’s CEO, who became famous for designing several BMW and Aston Martin car models.
While the Karma will be assembled in Finland using mostly U.S. parts, the Project Nina sedan is expected to be built in Wilmington, Del., at a former General Motors Co. plant. Production of the sedan, which may cost $47,400 less federal tax credits, should begin in 2012 (Jenny Hirsch, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 19). – PV