• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • Get the Latest about New Cars, EVs and More with the Headlight News Podcast
  • Order Up! Tesla Opens Order Books for the Tesla Semi
  • Detroit Automakers Reinstating Mask Mandates as COVID Surges
  • BMW Offers Up Official “Spy Shots” of Plug-In XM SUV
  • Court-Appointed Monitor Sets Schedule for UAW Elections
  • The Rearview Mirror: The Car That Begat Automotive Safety Laws
  • Mercedes Issues “Do Not Drive” Recall for 292K Vehicles
  • Targeting Tesla, VW CEO Says EVs are More Profitable Than First Forecast
  • Toyota Cuts Profit Guidance as Costs Continue to Rise
  • Honda Adds a Sport Trim to Odyssey Line for New Model Year
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • First Drive: 2022 Mercedes-Benz C 300
    • First Impression: 2023 Nissan Z
    • A Week With: 2022 Lexus LC 500 Convertible
    • A Week With: 2022 Ram 2500 Power Wagon Crew Cab
    • First Drive: 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning
    • First Drive(s): 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate and AT4X
    • A Week With: 2022 BMW i4 M50
    • A Week With: 2022 Mazda CX-5
    • First Drive: 2023 Kia Sportage
    • First Drive: 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automobiles > Fisker Karma Set for Revival

        Fisker Karma Set for Revival

        But will be renamed Elux Karma.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        April 06, 2015
        A new version of the Fisker Karma - now renamed Elux Karma - is set to debut this month.

        After a spectacular, billion-dollar meltdown, Fisker Automotive is set for a revival – more or less.

        The once-promising California start-up crashed and burned and was purchased out of bankruptcy by China’s Wanxiang Group which hoped to relaunch the plug-in hybrid Fisker Karma. The Chinese company is teasing the turnaround of what will now be known as the Elux Karma.

        Plug-in!

        Proclaiming “It’s On,” Wanxiang is promising to show off its version of the Karma sometime later this month — possibly at the upcoming Shanghai Motor Show. Other details are scarce, though a report by the China Daily suggests the reborn plug-in sports car will make it back into showrooms in mid-2016 at a price tag of around $135,000.

        That would be about 20% more expensive than the original Fisker Karma. The original car was priced roughly in the range of the high-end Tesla Model S which currently goes for anywhere from $69,900 to $93,400 for the P85 Performance version.

        (Price wars rage in the battery-car market, driving down consumer prices. Click Here for the latest.)

        The Fisker Karma was the brainchild of former Aston Martin designer Henrik Fisker, and was meant to show that battery-based vehicles didn’t have to be slow and stodgy. Repeatedly delayed, it finally went on sale in 2012, with a number of high-profile celebrities, such as Leonardo di Caprio both investing in the company and signing up for some of the first cars.

        But the Karma received a mixed reception from the media and ran into a series of problems, including several that required recalls.

        The company itself raised over $1 billion from investors but was quickly knee-deep in financial problems that were worsened when the federal government decided to halt paying out from a government fund intended to support the development of clean, high-mileage battery vehicles. Production was halted at the plant Fisker was using in Finland and, within short order the company plunged into bankruptcy.

        Wanxiang soon move in. It first bought the assets of A123, a Massachusetts company that had served as the battery supplier to Fisker, for $256.6 million. It then bought Fisker itself in early 2014 for $149.2 million.

        Reportedly, there were as many as 250 significant problems left unresolved by the original development team that led to reports by consumers of fire problems and software failures.

        That may explain why it will take the newly renamed Elux at least a year more than it originally anticipated to bring the Karma back into production. The Chinese company also is believed to have made some styling updates though the new Elux Karma is expected to remain quite similar to the original model’s design.

        (Mercedes-Benz planning to launch 10 new plug-in hybrids by 2017. Click Here for the full story.)

        Among other issues left to be clarified, the new owners aren’t yet saying where they will market the Elux Karma. With the government pushing hard for electric vehicles as a way to address endemic smog problems, the plug-in will clearly be offered in China. But whether it also will be re-introduced into the U.S. remains to be seen. Currently, there are no Chinese-made vehicles being sold in the States, though Volvo plans to import a stretched version of its S60, made in a plant near Guangzhou, later this year.

        Elux is believed also to be working on a final version of the Fisker Atlantic concept vehicle that was in the development stage when the company went bankrupt. Whether that project is going forward has not been revealed.

        How the Karma will play in any market today also remains to be seen. It was a unique alternative when initially conceived but there are a growing number of plug-in models coming from mainstream and — in particular — from luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi. Cadillac will unveil a plug-based version of its new CT6 flagship at the Shanghai Auto Show later this month.

        (Click Here to check out Cadillac’s plug-in plans.)

        Recently Published
        Podcasts
        Headlight News Podcast Microphone

        Get the Latest about New Cars, EVs and More with the Headlight News Podcast

        Yesterday

        Order Up! Tesla Opens Order Books for the Tesla Semi

        Yesterday
        An employee in the body shop at Stellantis’ Detroit Assembly Complex – Mack plant inspects the body of a Jeep® Grand Cherokee L to ensure it is within specification before it goes to the paint shop. The Company invested $1.6 billion to repurpose two existing facilities and build a paint shop to create the first new assembly plant in Detroit in 30 years and bring 3,850 new jobs to the city.

        Detroit Automakers Reinstating Mask Mandates as COVID Surges

        Yesterday

        4 responses to “Fisker Karma Set for Revival”

        1. Jorge says:
          April 6, 2015 at 12:37 pm

          Another Obama free money deal that turned to poop. Now China owns it and the tech and the equipment that U.S. tax payers paid for. At a price of $135K per car, they might as well just close their doors now instead of going through a second bankruptcy.

          Reply
          1. Eric says:
            April 7, 2015 at 11:44 pm

            Oh please… Taxpayers paid for nothing. Only about 16% of its financing was guaranteed by the DOE, the rest was private funding. You want to talk about failures? How about the Air Force’s stupid F-35 that can’t fly, isn’t ready for combat, and can’t even be used as a trainer. A $1.4 Trillion free money Bush deal.

            But then, none of this has anything to do with Fiskar, and it’s new owners appear to be serious about resurrecting the marque.

            Reply
            1. Jorge says:
              April 8, 2015 at 10:07 am

              You’re pretty gullible if you don’t understand that tax payers pay for everything – good and bad.

              Attempts to defend the unscrupulous actions of Obama, Bush or any other politician is futile. History will show that Obama has done more to damage America than anyone before or after him.

              As far as Wanxiang is concerned, they have no better chance of selling $135K EVs now than Fisker had of being successful before stealing money from U.S. tax payers via an Obama free lunch – paid for by tax payers. Unless Obama is using his own money, it’s coming out of tax payers pockets.

              Reply
        2. Barack says:
          April 9, 2015 at 5:11 pm

          Wow, that escalated to an Obama-bash fest rather quickly.

          Reply

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2022
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: