Fisker Karma
Bulk of loan will be used for new Project Nina
Plug in hybrids are one of the
technologies that the U.S. government is pushing strongly to reduce
the need to import foreign oil and to reduce the overall pollution in
our atmosphere. As part of the effort, billions in conditional loans
are being handed out to automakers with stipulations that the money
be used for hybrid development in America.
The latest carmaker
to get a substantial amount of money is Fisker. The U.S. energy
secretary Steven Chu announced yesterday that Fisker had been granted
a $528 million loan for advanced vehicle technology development.
Specifically the conditional loan is to be used for the development
of two different plug-in hybrid lines.
The development of the
two plug-in hybrid lines is expected to offset millions of tons of
greenhouse gas emissions and save hundreds of millions of gallons of
gas. The new production and design work is expected to create or save
about 5,000 jobs in America at parts suppliers.
"This
investment will create thousands of new American jobs and is another
critical step in making sure we are positioned to compete for the
clean energy jobs of the future," said Secretary Chu. "Plug-in
hybrid electric vehicles could revolutionize personal transportation
and cut our dependence on foreign oil, not to mention give us cleaner
air and less carbon pollution."
The $528 million loan was
granted as part of the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing
Loan program. Additional loans from the program will be granted in
the coming months to small and large automakers alike.
Fisker
will use $169.3 million of the loan funds for engineering integration
costs as it works with U.S. suppliers to complete the Karma. The
engineers will also design the tools and develop the manufacturing
processes needed for production. The work will be conducted in the
Fisker Pontiac, Michigan office. The final assembly of the Karma will
be conducted overseas, but 65% of the Karma will be sourced from U.S.
suppliers.
The bulk of the loan funds -- $359.36 million --
will be used for a project at Fisker called Project
Nina. This project centers around the manufacture of a plug-in hybrid
for the U.S. market and the estimate is that 75,000 to 100,000 of
these will roll off assembly lines each year starting in 2012.
Project Nina got its name from the ship Christopher Columbus used to
discover the new world.
The upcoming Fisker
Karma has a fuel economy rating of about 67 mpg.
"It looks like the iPhone 4 might be their Vista, and I'm okay with that." -- Microsoft COO Kevin Turner
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