Friday, May 28, 2010

Credibility Challenge for Fisker Karma

Fisker Karma

Fisker Karma

One of the most exciting new developments in the auto industry is the emergence of small start-ups with big visions for electric-drive cars. But the ability for these companies�like Tesla, Fisker, Coda, Think and Aptera�to fulfill their vast promise is dependent on their ability to deliver cars on a promised schedule.

The Fisker Karma is bold and beautiful�an $87,000 four-door plug-in hybrid theoretically capable of 50 miles of all-electric driving, and then hundreds more miles with help from a 2.2-liter four-cylinder gas engine. But a series of production delays could undermine the credibility of the company with any of its announcements.

Bad Karma?

In January 2009, chief executive Henrik Fisker said that production of the Karma would �Sdefinitely⬝ begin in December 2009. When December rolled around, Mr. Fisker encouraged consumers to order a Karma right away because production will begin in May 2010. And this week Ray Lane, a managing partner of the venture capital fund Kleiner Perkins, a large shareholder in the company, told Reuters that �Smass production⬝ will begin in February 2011.

Fisker Karma Interior

When will consumers be able to get behind the wheel of a Fisker Karma?

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Read More... [Source: HybridCars.com]

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