The ambitious expansion plans of Fisker Automotive, maker of the £80k range-extender hybrid Karma, face a significant financial challenge, according to reports from America.
The New York Times has reported that the funding to equip and staff a new plant in Delaware has yet to be secured, putting a question mark over the production start of the £40k Atlantic saloon, scheduled for autumn 2013.
The handsome, 5-Series sized Atlantic range-extender was revealed last night on the eve of the New York motor show.
To build the Atalantic, Fisker has secured the use of the former GM factory in Wilmington, but is looking for private and government funding to start-up production at the mothballed plant.
In an interview on the eve of the New York show yesterday, newly-appointed Fisker CEO Tom LaSorda hinted that Fisker faced a challenge to get its new plant operational.
"The whole plan has changed," La Sorda was reported as saying, "Wilmington is our primary site, but there are other options. We have to look at what's best for the company and the shareholders."
LaSorda also suggested that the Delaware plant could instead be used to build a third model, on a different platform from the Atlantic.
Despite the reports, company chairman Henrik Fisker said: “We want to make it very clear — this car will be built and will be going into production.”
This week, Fisker announced that it had finished raising an additional $392 million from private investors, giving it more than $1 billion in equity. A company spokesman said that the company is currently in negotiations with two potential funders, the US Department of Energy and private investors.
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