Geely No Longer Interested In Fisker
Fisker is still likely to be rescued by a Chinese savior, but it won’t be Geely. Reuters is reporting that Fisker’s outstanding obligations to the Department of Energy have scared off the Chinese auto maker, leaving Dongfeng as the sole suitor for the beleagured EV maker.
According to Reuters, the strings attached to the $529 million loan – such as commiting to restoring jobs and production capacity at American plants on a set timetable – were too daunting for Geely.
“Those obligations are too complicated to handle and seem too risky,” one of the sources said. “The plan’s footprint was too big. It would take a long, long time to fill up the plant with products and restore employment there.”
Originally, Geely was said to be eyeing Fisker’s Delaware plant as a means of producing Volvos in the United States. As of now, Dongfeng is said to be the sole bidder in the final round. Meanwhile, Fisker has yet to produce any cars since July of 2012, and is looking for funding to help produce the smaller Atlantic plug-in sedan.
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I guess "Henrik Fisker Pulls The Chute" story ruined the deal, but at least the Chinese read the comments.
I think Fisker is a giant exercise in ego extension, and this is why it has failed. And that the car is stupid. And we will never see the "Atlantic" second model.
They're probably better off with Dongfeng, they're a much bigger company and can better afford to absorb losses & make the needed investments. That said, Geely had a better chance of actually utilizing the capacity at Wilmington on something approaching a timely schedule. I really don't know what DFM can make of Fisker, I mean they get the technology of course, but there's got to be cheaper ways of getting that.
I don't know why anyone would buy Fisker unless they think there's some kind of value to the brand name. It's not like they developed their own tech for the drivetrain. That was done by Quantum, a military vendor that was one of Fisker's original investors.