Fisker Karma
The Fisker Karma is a luxury plug-in range-extended electric sports sedan produced by Fisker Automotive between 2011 and 2012. The cars were manufactured by Valmet Automotive in Finland.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency rated the Karma's combined city/highway fuel economy at equivalent in all-electric mode, and at in gasoline-only mode. EPA's official all-electric range is. Due to the very small cabin interior volume, the EPA rated the Fisker Karma as a subcompact car.
The first deliveries took place in the U.S. in late July 2011, and deliveries to retail customers began in November 2011. Pricing in the U.S. started at for the base model, US$110,000 for the intermediate EcoSport model and for the top model. Around 1,800 units were delivered in North America and Europe through December 2012. The U.S. was the leading market, with about 1,600 units sold.
Production was suspended in November 2012 when the sole battery supplier to Fisker Automotive, A123 Systems, filed for bankruptcy following two battery recalls. Fisker Automotive was unable to carry on production of the Fisker Karma in the absence of its sole battery supplier, with about 2,450 Karmas built since 2011.
After furloughing its US workers in late March 2013, Fisker Automotive filed for bankruptcy in November 2013, after the United States Department of Energy auctioned its debt and sold it to Hybrid Technology LLC for.
Following the sale of some of the assets of the company, the designs, rights to a plug-hybrid powertrain and a manufacturing facility in Delaware to the Chinese company Wanxiang, the new owners re-commenced production in September 2016 under the brand name Karma Automotive.
After several announcements by the Wanxiang Group to reintroduce an upgraded version of the Fisker Karma, the car was renamed the Karma Revero and Karma Automotive started taking orders in September 2016.
History
The Fisker Karma was revealed at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.It was the first car from Fisker Automotive, a then new auto maker based in Anaheim, California, founded on September 5, 2007.
Production began in July 2011, and the first two deliveries took place in the United States on July 26, 2011. In October 2011 the first Karma delivered in the UK was auctioned to benefit Pratham UK and raised a bid of . At the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, Fisker showed a short wheelbase convertible version called Fisker Sunset, with the intent of series production. At the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Fisker showed a Sports Wagon version of the Karma called the Fisker Surf. Aside from the modified rear end, the Surf also received a three-dimensional honeycomb grille. According to Fisker, this bodystyle had been planned from the beginning of design work on the Karma. In August 2012 Fisker announced that the Sunset and the Surf were both on hold, as the company had decided to focus on the planned mid-sized Atlantic sedan.
Following the sale to Chinese company Wanxiang of assets, designs, rights to a plug-hybrid powertrain, and a manufacturing facility in Delaware, the new owners in September 2016 commenced production under the name Karma Automotive. After several announcements by Wanxiang Group that they would reintroduce an upgraded version of the Fisker Karma, it was renamed the Karma Revero and.
Specifications
The Karma is a range-extended electric vehicle or series hybrid driven by a pair of electric motors that receive power from a 20.1 kWh lithium ion battery supplied by A123 Systems and/or an engine powered generator. The battery pack runs down the center of the car, between the pairs of left-hand and right-hand seats, preventing a rear bench and seating four rather than five passengers. Once the battery is depleted, or when the driver activates the "Sport" paddle on the steering wheel, the front-mounted 260 hp, 2.0-liter Ecotec four-cylinder direct-injection turbocharged gasoline engine powers a generator that sends electricity directly to the drive motors. The engine is sourced from General Motors. The battery can also be charged from the grid, making the vehicle a type of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.The Karma's engine is mated with a generator to provide an electrical connection to the motors and also recharge the batteries, and as such the electric motors are the only mechanical driving force connected to the wheels. However, in all-electric mode, the Karma is around half as efficient as the Chevrolet Volt. The Karma's curb weight is.
The Karma includes as standard a solar paneled roof manufactured by Asola Advanced and Automotive Solar Systems GmbH, a Quantum Technologies affiliate, to aid the cabin climate control system. The solar roof is capable of generating a half kilowatt-hour a day and was estimated to provide up to of additional range a week assuming continuously sunny days; however, the solar panels as delivered only recharge the 12-volt lead-acid accessory battery.
The base model of the Karma features an "eco-friendly interior", including salvaged/reclaimed lumber. Optional leather seating is available, but it will use much more of the cow hide than would customarily be found on luxury models; hides with scratches and other marks will be used. The EcoChic version featured a natural fabric interior with an ultrasuede dash, as part of Fisker's ecological "animal-free" offering and with real leaf fossils embedded in door and central console glass inserts.
The Karma has a warning sound system designed to alert pedestrians of its presence. The warning sound is emitted automatically and activated only when the car is traveling in all-electric mode at less than.
Performance
The Karma's two electric motors produce each for a quoted total of and of torque. The Karma features a top speed and is capable of reaching from a standstill in 5.9 seconds in Sport Mode according to Fisker.Fuel economy and range
The Environmental Protection Agency official all-electric range for the Fisker Karma is under the agency's five-cycle tests using varying driving conditions and climate controls. EPA's estimated energy consumption is 65 kWh per 100 miles. The total range with a full tank of gasoline and a fully charged battery is. EPA's official rating for combined city/highway fuel economy in all-electric mode is 52 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent . The EPA rating in gasoline-only mode is.The German Technical Inspection Association found through independent tests that the Fisker Karma has an all-electric range of in stealth mode. TÜV found that in charge-sustaining sport mode the Karma achieves a fuel economy of 26 mpg. The combined fuel economy was rated at 112 MPG-e and the emissions level is 51 g/km CO2.
Production and delivery
Fisker Automotive and Valmet Automotive reached agreement in 2008 to manufacture the Karma in Uusikaupunki, Finland, with the final assembly contract signed by both parties on November 13, 2008.In 2008 Fisker Automotive began accepting pre-orders in the United States, and Europe and initially scheduled sales of its Karma PHEV by the fourth quarter of 2009 in the United States, and starting in 2010 in Europe. In 2009 Henrik Fisker reported 1,300 orders for the Karma. Henrik Fisker showed the first production model Karma at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. In July 2011, Fisker stated that it had received 3,000 pre-orders and that the plug-in hybrid was sold out until early 2012.
After rescheduling the Karma market launch to September 2010, and missing its target to build 70 to 100 test cars in 2010, production began in July 2011, and the two first deliveries took place in the United States during the same month. The Valmet plant in Finland began production with five cars a week. By December 2011 the production rate was 25 units a day. Production was suspended in November 2012 due to financial difficulties, with about 2,450 Karmas built since 2011. As a result of flash floods caused by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, 16 Karmas caught fire and another 330 units were lost when an entire shipment from Europe was flooded while being parked at Port Newark–Elizabeth Marine Terminal.
Deliveries to retail customers in the U.S. began in November 2011. In the United States the first vehicles were sold for for the basic model, and for the top model. In December 2011 prices were raised to for the base EcoStandard model, and for the top model, the EcoChic.