Posts Tagged ‘fisker loan’
Battery-carmaker facing Chapter 11, founder set to testify before House.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Apr.23, 2013
Henrik Fisker is one of several current and former Fisker Automotive execs called to testify before Congress.
Even as the company’s founder is set to testify before a House hearing, the U.S. Department of Energy has seized $21 million from Fisker Automotive to apply towards repayment of a federal loan the floundering battery-car manufacturer received.
The move appears to have emptied what was left of Fisker’s fast-dwindling cash assets, a further nudge towards bankruptcy, according to industry observers. The maker has been expected to file ever since laying off 75% of its 160-member staff earlier this month.
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The collapse of Fisker is raising questions not only about a DoE loan program designed to help fund the development of advanced, high-mileage vehicles but what happened with the money Fisker tapped from its loan – as well as an estimated $1.2 billion it received from private investors.
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Tags: Bernhard Koehler, auto news, car news, fisker DoE, fisker automotive, fisker bankruptcy, fisker chapter 11, fisker energy dept, fisker karma, fisker loan, fisker news, henrik fisker, house oversight committee, house oversight fisker, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, tony posawatz
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GOP preparing House hearings on collapse.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Apr.10, 2013
Henrik Fisker is one of several current and former Fisker Automotive executives who will be asked to testify before the House Oversight Committee.
Lawyers for Fisker Automotive are putting the final touches on paperwork that could put the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection within a matter of days, according to numerous sources in and outside the fast-fading battery-carmaker.
The move appears to be coming under pressure from the Department of Energy which is hoping to recoup more than $200 million in government-backed loans it initially provided to help spur the development of Fisker’s plug-in hybrid technology. The automaker has faced increasing turmoil in recent months and last week terminated three-quarters of its 160-member staff.
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The news is causing turmoil in Washington, where the DoE automotive loan program has long been criticized by Republicans. House GOP members are planning to press into Fisker’s problems with hearings by a key oversight committee later this month, with Fisker founder Henrik Fisker and current CEO Tony Posawatz reportedly among those being called to testify.
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Tags: auto news, car news, fisker DoE, fisker atlantic, fisker automotive fisker fires, fisker bankruptcy, fisker chapter 11, fisker hearing, fisker karma, fisker loan, fisker news, fisker oversight committee, gop fisker, henrik fisker, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, tony posawatz
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China's Dongfeng reportedly seeking controlling stake.
by Joseph Szczesny on Feb.18, 2013
Fisker Automotive founder Henrik Fisker with his plug-in hybrid, the $103,000 Karma.
Fisker Automotive Inc. has confirmed it is considering a variety of options that reportedly could include the sale of a controlling stake to one of China’s largest domestic automakers.
But while the start-up plug-in hybrid maker has confirmed it is discussing options with potential partners from at least “three continents,” Fisker insiders caution that some recent, published reports may be wildly off the mark in terms of the bids it is considering.
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“With regards to a sale, given the confidential nature of this matter, at this point in our process we can only confirm that the company has received detailed proposals from multiple parties in different continents which are now being evaluated by the company and its advisors,” echoed Fisker spokesman Russell Datz in an e-mail response to questions from TheDetroitBureau.com.
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Tags: auto news, car news, dongfeng fisker, fisker, fisker atlantic, fisker china, fisker dongfeng, fisker karma, fisker loan, fisker news, fisker sale, henrik fisker, joe szczesny, plug-in hybrids, thedetroitbureau
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by Paul A. Eisenstein on Feb.08, 2013
A prototype of the Fisker Atlantic. Its production date likely will depend upon current negotiations with potential partners.
Battery-car start-up Fisker Automotive has entered a critical stage in its short life, the plug-in hybrid maker working feverishly to firm up an alliance strategy that could team it up with one or more well-funded partners – and, in the process, allow it to move ahead with the launch of its second product line.
In the meantime, Fisker also is working to restart production of its original model, the Karma, something that is dependent upon negotiations with battery supplier A123 which recently emerged from bankruptcy under new ownership.
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“We have multiple interested partners” that the company is talking to, said Fisker Automotive’s eponymous founder and Chairman Henrik Fisker, following a speech at the Chicago Auto Show.
Company spokesman Roger Ormisher subsequently told TheDetroitBureau.com that the “multiple partners” talking to Fisker are located “across three Continents,” though the maker is declining to reveal specific names.
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Tags: auto news, battery cars, car news, fisker a123, fisker atlantic, fisker automotive fisker karma, fisker china, fisker loan, fisker news, fisker partner, henrik fisker, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, plug-in hybrids, thedetroitbureau
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Plug-in maker aims to cut costs, bring more cars to market.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Nov.30, 2012
Henrik Fisker with one of the first Karma plug-in hybrids.
Hoping to overcome a string of setbacks and get its product program back on track, battery-car start-up Fisker Automotive is quietly looking to line up a better financed partner.
There are no plans to sell the company, stressed founder and Chairman Henrik Fisker, but it appears the firm has recognized it will be difficult to go it completely alone, especially after having the Department of Energy freeze a low-interest loan that was supposed to help bring the maker’s second product, the Fisker Atlantic plug-in hybrid to market.
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Fisker has run into a series of setbacks this year, there were two recalls — including one involving a fire caused by a battery cooling fan — product delays, management shake-ups and the loss of its DoE loan. While its first product, the Fisker Karma, has won kudos from some reviewers, it has been harshly criticized by others, notably including the influential Consumer Reports magazine.
Acknowledging it’s been a tough year, Henrik Fisker told TheDetroitBureau.com in an exclusive interview that, “We’re actively engaged in conversations with potential strategic partners.”
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Lawmakers question process used by Department of Energy to give $529 million loan to fledgling automaker.
by Bryan Laviolette on Apr.25, 2012
Fisker has suspended work on its Atlantic plug-in hybrid that it hopes to build in a former General Motors plant in Deleware.
Two U.S. senators are asking the Obama administration to explain the process it used to approve a $529 million loan to Fisker Automotive, which has suspended work on an electric car it planned to build in the U.S.
Charles Grassley, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, and John Thune, a Republican member of the Finance and Commerce committees, asked the Energy Department to investigate the financing deal.
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Since receiving the loan, Fisker has run into production problems and has had to suspend work on the Atlantic, a midsize electric sedan it planned to build at a former General Motors plant in Deleware.
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Tags: Department of energy loans, Fisker $529 million loan, Fisker jobs, Republican Senators, Sen. Charles Grassley, Sen. John Thune, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, bryan laviolette, car news, fisker atlantic, fisker karma, fisker loan
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But details, including production timing, remain elusive.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Apr.04, 2012
The first official pic of the Fisker Atlantic plug-in hybrid.
Henrik Fisker, founder of the eponymous Fisker Automotive, was clearly searching for something new to reveal during an evening news conference the night before the formal opening of the 2012 New York Auto Show. The problem is that much of what he had hoped to say – and then some – leaked out in the days leading up to the event.
The most important detail confirmed by the Danish designer-cum-automaker was that the second Fisker product line will be dubbed the Atlantic if it ever gets into production. Make that “when” it gets to production, Fisker asserted, insisting that the California start-up’s problems locking down a Department of Energy loan it thought it already had will not stop its ambitious plans.
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Fisker belatedly reached market with the bigger and decidedly more expensive Karma earlier this year. But problems bringing it to showrooms led the DoE to withdraw the loan after the company had only been able to draw down about 35% of it. While new Chief Executive Officer Tom LaSorda is continuing discussions with the government, he told TheDetroitBureau.com that Fisker Automotive is moving ahead with alternative plans to raise money privately to replace the DoE funds.
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Tags: auto news, car news, extended-range electric vehicles, fisker DoE, fisker atlantic, fisker delays, fisker investors, fisker loan, fisker news, fisker plug-in, fisker stock, henrik fisker, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, tom lasorda
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“They didn’t have to twist my arm.”
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Feb.28, 2012
Former Chrysler Chief LaSorda will now serve as CEO at Fisker Automotive.
Former Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda is back in the saddle, albeit one with a relatively silent source of power, as the new chief executive of battery-car start-up Fisker Automotive.
LaSorda, who had been serving as advisor and vice chairman of the California-based company will step into day-to-day management replacing founder Henrik Fisker as CEO. The Danish-born Fisker will continue to serve as executive chairman and as the company’s design chief.
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The 57-year-old LaSorda will have plenty of challenges ahead of him. Fisker Automotive is months behind with the launch of its first product, the plug-in Karma sports car, and it is struggling to renegotiate $528 million in federal loans needed to complete the development and production launch of the maker’s next product, a more mainstream plug-in model codenamed Project Nina.
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Tags: auto news, car news, fisker DoE, fisker automotive, fisker green, fisker hybrids, fisker karma, fisker lasorda, fisker loan, fisker news, fisker plug-in, fisker project nina, hybrid sports cars, lasorda fisker, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, plug-in hybrids, plug-in sports cars, thedetroitbureau, tom lasorda, tommy lasorda
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Could complicate bid to raise cash.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Feb.21, 2012
Fisker founder Henrik Fisker with the Karma.
With the fate of its $528 million Department of Energy loan in limbo, Fisker Automotive has been rushing to sign up new investors, reportedly already lining up $260 million during recent months. But the California start-up could be facing new problems in the form of a lawsuit by an investor accusing it of bait-and-switch tactics.
Though it’s unlikely the suit itself could bring a major new financial burden on Fisker, several observers cautioned it could create another management diversion and throw up a red flag that might scare off other potential investors.
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The timing, meanwhile, couldn’t be worse. Fisker is finally getting to market with the much-delayed Karma plug-in hybrid sports car, but it needs additional funding to ensure that the company’s more mainstream second project, codenamed Project Nina, gets into production in 2013 – also about a year behind schedule.
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Latest setback for battery-car start-up.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Feb.07, 2012
Fisker Automotive founder Henrik Fisker with his plug-in hybrid, the $102,000 Karma.
The following story has been updated to reflect additional details and the claim by Fisker that production of the Karma plug-in hybrid continues despite the delays in receiving DoE loan money.
Already behind on deliveries and facing the need to renegotiate its $529 million in government loans, Fisker Automotive has laid off 26 workers at a plant in Delaware that was being geared up to produce the maker’s next battery car.
Another 40 Fisker employees and contractors working on the development of what is codenamed Project Nina have been released at Fisker’s officces in Anaheim, CA.
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The automaker has suffered a series of setbacks in recent months, including a slow start-up of production of the $102,000 Karma, which is being imported from a plant in Finland. The plug-in also received a much lower fuel economy rating than had been anticipated following tests by the EPA. Concerns about the safety of the Karma also prompted a voluntary recall of the small number of hybrids that had already reached the U.S.
But the latest issue centers around the $529 million in loans Fisker was granted by the Department of Energy. It already received $193 million but the government is refusing to release additional money because the California-based start-up has missed several targets included in the loan agreement.
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