Detroit 2009: Henrik Fisker talks about the future of the Karma, and a low-cost model

Posted by in Auto Green on 01 22nd, 2009 | no responses

Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Hybrid , AutoblogGreen Exclusive , Detroit Auto Show , Green Daily , Fisker Click above for high-res gallery of the Fisker Karma S When we sat down with Henrik Fisker during the Detroit Auto Show , he acknowledged that many people didn’t think his company would return for a second year. But, as we all saw, the company did return, and did so with a bang with the unveiling of the Karma S hardtop convertible . Braving the economic downturn and debuting a new model wasn’t all that difficult, Fisker said, because the aluminum frame of the Fisker Karma is “so flexible, that we can develop a variant of the Karma for very low cost.” This first variant, the Karma S, is scheduled for production in 2011. On the money side, Fisker said he never doubted that his company would be back because, “We had a very powerful and strong and displined business plan and we had some very, very sophisticated investors.” Those investors include Kleiner Perkins and QIA, the Qatar Investment Authority . So far, response to the Karma has been strong, with about 1,300 pre-orders already placed. The company should be up to full production – about 1,200 vehicles a month – in the middle of 2010, with 15,000 units planned for 2011. You can listen to our chat (13 min, 6MB) and click past the jump for much more about the low-cost Fisker and the different trim levels of the Karma models. Gallery: Detroit 2009: Fisker Karma S Gallery: Detroit 2009: production Fisker Karma Continue reading Detroit 2009: Henrik Fisker talks about the future of the Karma, and a low-cost model Detroit 2009: Henrik Fisker talks about the future of the Karma, and a low-cost model originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green