Fisker Automotive is looking to recharge its funds by $100 million by the end of the month.
Fisker, maker of the extended-range plug-in Karma, is reportedly seeking to raise $100 million in funds by March 31. According to Bloomberg, the American automaker is looking to restart production of its Delaware plant, which was forced to lay off a number of workers at last month.
To date, Fisker has taken about 2,500 Karma orders, selling roughly 600 units since production began last year. According to Bloomberg, the additional $100 million in funds would bring Fisker’s total fundraising to nearly $1 billion and will be used to fix a glitch in the Karma and resume work in the company’s Delaware plant; however Fisker spokesman Rssel Datz declined to comment on the company’s fundraising strategy.
It certainly hasn’t been smooth sailing for Fisker. A number of delays, recalls, and a heavily publicized meltdown of Consumer Reports very own $107,000 Karma, not to mention missing out on over $300 million in U.S Department of Energy loans due to production delays, have provided a less than stellar image of Fisker and its Karma.
Despite Fisker’s litany of financial and production woes, the Anaheim-based automaker is continuing to press on. It intends to seek additional funding from private sources.
“We are having other funding options than the DOE,” a Fisker executive chairman said on a Feb. 28 conference call. “We are right now assessing our different funding options.”
If all goes well — and Fisker is able to raise the funds needed by the end of the month — it would certainly provide a boost from the company’s seemingly endless difficulties. And on top of fixing any glitches remaining in the Karma, the funds gathered could expedite the development of the recently teased Nina, which is scheduled for production, barring any delays, sometime in 2014.
