Fisker originally planned to launch a plug-in hybrid grand touring car called Karma in late 2009 but delayed it by a year due to lack of financing. That shouldn't be a problem any longer since Fisker has been approved for a $529 million loan by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Founded by former BMW designer Henrik Fisker and based in Irvine, Calif., Fisker is funded in part by venture capital's Kleiner Perkins and battery maker A123 systems. The $87,900 Karma has a claimed range of 50 miles of battery-only motoring and another 250 miles with its range-extending gasoline engine.
Production is planned at 15,000 cars a year at a supplier plant in Finland that also assembles the Porsche Boxster. Fisker has begun to equip its own factory in Delaware to produce a second line of cars by 2012 or 2013.
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