Fisker Rebirth Watch: Will Karma Strike Again?

It’s been a long wait since Henrik Fisker’s brainchild floated — bloated and belly-first — to the surface of the automotive pool, but we’re told a new plug-in hybrid statusmobile is on the way. That means new jobs coming to the Detroit area for as long as Henrik can keep the money rolling.

Last week, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation pledged $450,000 in funding so that Karma Automotive LLC — formerly Fisker Automotive — can build an engineering and purchasing building in Troy. The city plans to offer additional funds to see the $3.6 million project get off the ground, where the reborn company plans to employ up to 150 people.

The luxury automaker, which changed its identity after its 2013 bankruptcy and subsequent purchase by Chinese firm Wanxiang, plans to unveil its new Karma Revero later this summer. Well, “new” means different things to different people. The Revero is expected to be an updated version of the ill-fated Fisker Karma, which saw a 2012 model year run of under 2,000 vehicles.

The Fisker saga, which would make a good stage play, saw the problem plagued, Finnish-built vehicles touted by celebs and the federal government alike. Both lost a lot of money on the deal. The U.S. Department of Energy lost about $139 million of its $528 million conditional loan after it froze Fisker’s cash flow.

Wanxiang bought Fisker’s assets at auction for $149 million.

Now that the old name’s been jettisoned and government incentives are again flowing, Karma can work on getting the Revero built at its Moreno Valley, California production facility. Tooling and equipment was sent over from the old facility in Finland. Though details on the new model are scarce, we know it will gain its electrical components from BMW.

That should keep DiCaprio from being stranded in the rain.

[Source: CBS, HybridCars] [Image: Wikimedia]