While it has just unveiled the new Atlantic model (Project Nina), Fisker Automotive’s new chief executive, Tom LaSorda, has said the EV maker is looking at alternatives to building its second model in a former General Motors plant in Delaware, raising the possibility of abandoning a plan that had financial backing from the Obama administration.
According to the Wall Street Journal, LaSorda also said Fisker is looking for strategic partners as part of its effort to raise new funds to replace a federal loan that was frozen earlier this year.
Fisker was awarded a US$529m loan under an Obama administration programme designed to spur production of advanced technology vehicles. It drew about $193m of the loan to engineer the Karma luxury plug-in hybrid.
But a plan to retool the former GM factory to build a second model, the Atlantic, was delayed, and the energy department froze the loan last May, LaSorda said at an event where the company unveiled a prototype Atlantic.
LaSorda said the production site for the Atlantic could depend on where Fisker gets new money to replace the US loan. If an overseas investor emerges, the car could be built overseas, he said.
In any case, he said, Fisker no longer plans to start building the Atlantic this summer, as once planned.
LaSorda, a former top Chrysler executive, indicated he is reviewing many aspects of Fisker’s strategy, including whether battery maker A123 will supply batteries for the Atlantic.
Fisker has suffered setbacks on recent weeks, including a recall by A123 of batteries installed in Karma models to fix defects that caused vehicles to stall.
The Wilmington plant was opened by GM in 1947 and closed in 2009 as the automaker restructured after bankruptcy. Among the last models produced were the Saturn L-series and the Pontiac Solstice and its Saturn, Opel and Daewoo derivatives.
