disorderlyvision
09-23-2009, 06:07 PM
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090922/AUTO01/909220424/Luxury-carmaker-Fisker-wins-$529M-government-loan
The Energy Department awarded a $529 million low-interest government loan to a California-based start-up luxury automaker to fund the development of an $88,000 plug-in hybrid vehicle and a future "family oriented" sedan.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the loan to Irvine-based Fisker Automotive for the development of two lines of plug-in hybrids that will save hundreds of millions gallons of gasoline and offset millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2016.
The department said the "project will result in approximately 5,000 jobs created or saved for domestic parts suppliers and thousands more to manufacture a plug-in hybrid in the U.S."
This is the fourth loan out of the $25 billion automotive retooling program funded by Congress in September 2008. Earlier loans went to Ford Motor Co., Tesla Motors Inc. and Nissan Motor Co.
General Motors Co., Chrysler Group LLC and Delphi Corp. are among the companies that are still seeking loans under the program.
In the first stage of the program, Fisker Automotive will use a $169.3 million loan for engineering integration costs as it works with primarily U.S. suppliers to complete the company's first vehicle, the Fisker Karma. Engineers will also design tools and equipment and develop manufacturing processes.
The work will be conducted at Fisker's Pontiac office with support from its headquarters in Irvine, Calif.
The company was founded by two industry veterans, but the firm has yet to produce a large number of vehicles. Henrik Fisker, the company's CEO, was design director for Aston Martin and president and CEO of BMW's DesignworksUSA. Bernhard Koehler, who is Fisker's chief operating officer, led design operations at Ford, Aston Martin and BMW.
While the final assembly of the Karma will be done overseas, more than 65 percent -- based on cost -- of the parts required for Karma will come from U.S. suppliers.
The four-door Karma is scheduled to appear in showrooms in summer 2010, and the company has more than 1,500 preorders.
The second stage includes a $359.36 million loan for Fisker's Project Nina, involving the manufacture of a plug-in hybrid in the U.S. Fisker estimates that up to 75,000-100,000 of these efficient vehicles will roll off assembly lines in the U.S. every year beginning in late 2012 that will cost around $45,000. But Fisker said with a federal tax credit of up to $7,500, the Nina will be no more than $39,000 -- a price still out of reach for most car buyers, even though Fisker bills it as a "family oriented" vehicle.
Project NINA -- inspired by the ship belonging to explorer Christopher Columbus -- "is symbolic of the automobile industry's transition from old world to new," the company said.
"This conditional loan represents a significant step in America's future," said Fisker. "With it Fisker Automotive can rapidly develop affordable clean cars that satisfy our passion for driving and help restore the U.S. as an auto industry leader."
Fisker Automotive has 45 dealers in about 20 states. It plans to have at least 100 dealers by 2012.
Fisker said some 248 million gallons of gasoline could be saved and 2.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide offset from sales of 15,000 Karmas per year through 2016.
The company said Karma will have 403 horsepower and "more torque than many supercars, 0-100km/h (62mph) takes about six seconds, and maximum speed is 201km/h (125mph)."
Fisker Coachbuild, LLC, and Quantum Technologies announced this joint venture partnership in September 2007.
The Energy Department said the projected annual sales of these vehicles would contribute significantly to the Obama administration's goal of having one million plug-in hybrids on the road by 2015.
Many auto experts have called that goal highly unrealistic.
In June, the department awarded $8 billion in loans, including $5.9 billion to Ford.
The Energy Department awarded a $529 million low-interest government loan to a California-based start-up luxury automaker to fund the development of an $88,000 plug-in hybrid vehicle and a future "family oriented" sedan.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the loan to Irvine-based Fisker Automotive for the development of two lines of plug-in hybrids that will save hundreds of millions gallons of gasoline and offset millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2016.
The department said the "project will result in approximately 5,000 jobs created or saved for domestic parts suppliers and thousands more to manufacture a plug-in hybrid in the U.S."
This is the fourth loan out of the $25 billion automotive retooling program funded by Congress in September 2008. Earlier loans went to Ford Motor Co., Tesla Motors Inc. and Nissan Motor Co.
General Motors Co., Chrysler Group LLC and Delphi Corp. are among the companies that are still seeking loans under the program.
In the first stage of the program, Fisker Automotive will use a $169.3 million loan for engineering integration costs as it works with primarily U.S. suppliers to complete the company's first vehicle, the Fisker Karma. Engineers will also design tools and equipment and develop manufacturing processes.
The work will be conducted at Fisker's Pontiac office with support from its headquarters in Irvine, Calif.
The company was founded by two industry veterans, but the firm has yet to produce a large number of vehicles. Henrik Fisker, the company's CEO, was design director for Aston Martin and president and CEO of BMW's DesignworksUSA. Bernhard Koehler, who is Fisker's chief operating officer, led design operations at Ford, Aston Martin and BMW.
While the final assembly of the Karma will be done overseas, more than 65 percent -- based on cost -- of the parts required for Karma will come from U.S. suppliers.
The four-door Karma is scheduled to appear in showrooms in summer 2010, and the company has more than 1,500 preorders.
The second stage includes a $359.36 million loan for Fisker's Project Nina, involving the manufacture of a plug-in hybrid in the U.S. Fisker estimates that up to 75,000-100,000 of these efficient vehicles will roll off assembly lines in the U.S. every year beginning in late 2012 that will cost around $45,000. But Fisker said with a federal tax credit of up to $7,500, the Nina will be no more than $39,000 -- a price still out of reach for most car buyers, even though Fisker bills it as a "family oriented" vehicle.
Project NINA -- inspired by the ship belonging to explorer Christopher Columbus -- "is symbolic of the automobile industry's transition from old world to new," the company said.
"This conditional loan represents a significant step in America's future," said Fisker. "With it Fisker Automotive can rapidly develop affordable clean cars that satisfy our passion for driving and help restore the U.S. as an auto industry leader."
Fisker Automotive has 45 dealers in about 20 states. It plans to have at least 100 dealers by 2012.
Fisker said some 248 million gallons of gasoline could be saved and 2.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide offset from sales of 15,000 Karmas per year through 2016.
The company said Karma will have 403 horsepower and "more torque than many supercars, 0-100km/h (62mph) takes about six seconds, and maximum speed is 201km/h (125mph)."
Fisker Coachbuild, LLC, and Quantum Technologies announced this joint venture partnership in September 2007.
The Energy Department said the projected annual sales of these vehicles would contribute significantly to the Obama administration's goal of having one million plug-in hybrids on the road by 2015.
Many auto experts have called that goal highly unrealistic.
In June, the department awarded $8 billion in loans, including $5.9 billion to Ford.