Fisker Automotive, the maker of the star-crossed plug-in hybrid sports car called the Karma, has now changed its name to Karma Automotive.
The Fisker story has been colorful, and mostly tragic, since renowned designer Henrik Fisker co-founded the company in 2007. It was involved in a lawsuit with Tesla, became an issue in the 2012 presidential debates, suffered through battery fires, a hurricane and the collapse of its battery supplier, A123, and went bankrupt in 2013, taking with it a sizable pot of taxpayer money (by the way, the Karma is, by most accounts, a wonderful car).
In the next act, Chinese auto parts giant the Wanxiang Group bought Fisker in 2014, and outlined a strategy to resume auto production (and considered changing its name to Elux). Since then, the company has been hiring, rebuilding its supply chain, and mending relationships with existing owners. It has announced plans to relaunch the Karma automobile in mid-2016.
Will that vehicle now be renamed? How closely will it resemble the existing Karma? How much will it partake of the latest EV technology, which has advanced significantly? Will it be a worthy competitor for the coming crop of new plug-in sports cars? All we can say for sure is that the company is moving forward – hopefully into the “brand new day” promised in a recent video.
