Chinese Billionaire Takes On Musk With Electric-Car Reboot
- Lu Guanqiu changes Fisker brand name to Karma Automotive
- U.S. price tag for relaunched plug-in hybrid will be $115,000
First Look: Tesla Model X SUV
With a new name and financial backing from Chinese billionaire Lu Guanqiu, electric-car maker Fisker Automotive Inc. has a shot at life after death.
The company is changing the Fisker name to Karma, which is also the name of its $115,000 plug-in hybrid coupe. Karma the company is trying to alter its fate after its previous incarnation as Fisker failed to repay $139 million in U.S. government loans and filed for bankruptcy. With Lu’s backing, California-based Karma now has 300 employees.
Karma the car plans to relaunch next year into an increasingly crowded field of competitors and the threat of cheap gasoline, which has hurt sales of hybrid-electric cars and electric vehicles. Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors Inc. just delivered its first Model X sport utility vehicles while General Motors Co. has a new Chevrolet Volt and BMW is preparing a plug-in hybrid version of its X5 SUV.
So it’s good for Karma that Lu is focused on the long term, said Chief Marketing Officer Jim Taylor.