Private | |
Industry | Automotive |
Founded | 2015 |
Key people
|
Tom Corcoran (CEO) Jim Taylor (CRO) |
Products | |
Owner | Wanxiang Group |
Number of employees
|
625 (2016) |
Website | karmaautomotive.com |
Karma Automotive is an automaker owned by Wanxiang Group, and based in Costa Mesa, California.
In February 2014, Chinese auto-parts supplier Wanxiang Group purchased assets of Fisker Automotive for $149.2 million in a bankruptcy auction. These assets included design, a plug-in hybrid powertrain, and a manufacturing facility in Delaware. Karma Automotive was formed in October 2015.
The purchase excluded the Fisker brand and trademarks owned by Henrik Fisker. In 2007, Fisker Automotive was founded by Henrik Fisker and his business partner Bernhard Koehler. Its Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid sports sedan debuted in 2011, and about 2,000 of the vehicles were sold. After Fisker's battery supplier A123 Systems filed for bankruptcy after two battery recalls, Fisker Automotive could not continue making vehicles, and the company declared bankruptcy in February 2014. Wanxiang also purchased A123 following its bankruptcy declaration.
The Revero is a luxury electric hybrid sedan based on the Fisker Karma, maintaining much of the original exterior and interior of the Fisker Karma, incorporating an A123 battery, charger and electrical controls. Karma CRO Jim Taylor stated that this was intentional, as the company believes the original Fisker Karma still holds much appeal for consumers. The company began building the Revero in 2016 at its factory in Moreno Valley, California, with production set to begin in late 2016 or early 2017. The Revero debuted on September 8, 2016. Karma plans to manufacture 3,000 of the vehicles.