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Fisker Karma goes into production

By Brett Davis |

Electric and plug-in hybrid sports car maker, Fisker, has announced it has commenced production of the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid sports sedan in Finland. Dealer deliveries in the US and Europe are set to take place some time next month.

The Fisker Karma is being built under contract through Valmet Automotive at a production plant in Uusikaupunki, Finland. Valmet also builds versions of the Porsche Cayman and Boxster at the plant for Porsche, and has now begun building the Karma in accordance with a contract deal that was finalised in November 2008. Fisker spokesman, Roger Ormisher, said in a recent report,

“We’re going to be ramping up very slowly, very carefully to ensure quality. This year we want to get over 7,000 deliveries.”

The Fisker Karma is a a plug-in hybrid that is capable of running on electric power for up to 80km until a petrol motor kicks in. Using a 2.0-litre Ecotec turbocharged petrol motor, the Fisker Karma boasts an overall fuel consumption rating of just 2.4L/100km and offers a total range of around 480km.

It is designed as a sports car though so it’s also able to achieve 0-100km/h in 5.8 seconds and go onto a top speed of 201km/h. This is thanks to a combination of two electric motors which output 150kW each and also develop an Earth-moving 1300Nm of torque.

The Fisker Karma will go on sale in the US for around AU$87,000.


 

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  • bert

    $87,000 USD $350,000 AUS if it ever gets here!

  • Pauly

    When it finally gets to Australia there is no way it will cost $87,000.

    But you never know? Our dollar is at parity, so there is really no excuse to increase the prices THAT much. Sure there might be extra shipping and taxes involved to get it into Australia.

    But those costs will not get to stupid levels.

    Maybe $150,000? Nissan GT-R pricing?

    • Baddass

      Yes, I would think it would have to be below $200,000, as Australians equate high prices with big, powerful engines, and this has a 2.0L 4-cylinder (albeit a quite fast one). Equivalent money can get a faster Merc E63 or new M5, so they’ll have to think about their positioning.

    • F1MotoGP

      The average yearly earnings in Australia for 2010 was $56,950. In the US, it was $46,326.

      Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesman David McCarthy says there are crucial differences between the two markets and that flows onto the retail prices.

      “Basically, we pay more tax,” he says. “There is GST, luxury-car tax and import tax on each car.

      “That’s the starting point. Australia is a tiny market – we have a one-million a year vehicle market, the US is about 30 million. You get a discount for buying in volume.

      “Australia is a small market but it is geographically huge and needs similar levels of personnel and nationwide support and service as the US.

      “Then we have specific emission and design regulations which Mercedes-Benz at the factory has to engineer and comply. We, Mercedes-Benz Australia, pays for that – not Mercedes in Germany. So that gets passed on to the customer.

      “Our geographical isolation means we carry cars on shipping routes that aren’t well travelled, so that costs extra. “The other important factor is model range. We sell everything from a Smart Fortwo to a 140-tonne truck and everything – cars, vans, trucks – in between.

      “The US has a much smaller model range. For example, they have no four-cylinder engine versions available in the C-Class and E-Class and have no A-Class or B-Class models.”

      Source: Carsguide – Why cars cost more here than in the US

      • Dave S

        Great points.

        We are 2 very different countriesw in many ways.
        Just because our dollar is the same as the US – does not make us the US.

        We are still the largest Island in the world, very remote from the rest of the world.

  • Flying High

    Considering what you can buy car wise in the USA for 87K, this is simply not worth it. A no name car brand, with prices like that will be a no customer car brand too. Would you buy this or a BMW M5 for far less money? How about a Porsche Panamera or Mercedes Benz S for about the same price? Someone at Fisker Karmer got their equations quite wrong I am afraid…

    • Lazybones

      The Tesla Roadster costs more, and that still sells. Its going to appeal to those who want and can afford a plug in hybrid with some balls.