Fisker Signs Up With Large Dealer Network
February 3, 2009 by admin
One of America’s largest auto dealer groups has been signed by Fisker Automotive to carry their sedan and hardtop convertible Karma plug-in hybrid models.
Automotive News has reported that the dealer group is the influential Ron Tonkin Automotive Group, which owns 15 dealerships in and around the Portland, OR area. AN says the group has 2007 sales of almost 23,000 new, used and fleet cars and trucks for a combined value of $466 million. Tonkin will be Fisker’s exclusive Oregon state dealership.
Tonkin started the company on his own with a single Chevrolet dealership in 1960 and still has control over the now-vast company. Tonkin, a former president of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), has among his stores the nation’s oldest Ferrari and Maserati factory-franchised dealerships.
Tonkin’s MotoCorsa store sells Ducati, Aprilia and MV Augusta motorcycles.
Tonkin’s been right before and he’s hoping to have found a successful carmaker with Fisker. Of course like all successful car dealers (and salespeople of all kinds) he is by nature be positive and enthusiastic. He is reported to be a super-salesman, tempered with the mind to have known a sure thing or two when he was first to see it coming.
According to Tonkin, the Fisker factory has received orders for 931 Karmas.
Henrik Fisker, a former designer for BMW, Ford and Aston Martin says each Karma, both the four-door, four-seat sedan and two-door, four-seat hardtop convertible S model, will be built to each customers’ specifications.
According to Fisker, “Karma uses Q-DRIVE plug-in hybrid technology, developed exclusively for Fisker Automotive by Quantum Technologies. A fully-charged Karma burns no fuel for the first 50 miles. Venture further and the small gasoline engine acts as a generator to keep the lithium ion battery pack charged.
“Once the 50-mile electric range has been exceeded, the car operates as a normal hybrid vehicle. This balance of electric and gas range makes it entirely possible that Karma drivers who charge their car overnight and commute less than 50 miles a day will achieve an average fuel economy of 100 mpg per year.”
The deposit for the sedan is $5,000, with deliveries expected to begin the second-half of 2010. Base price is $87,900. The company points out that the Karma may be eligible for a $7,500 tax credit.
The Karma S, the hybrid hardtop convertible, carries a deposit cost of $25,000, with deliveries planned to start at the end of 2011. Though no price has yet been set for the S model, the company says the drop-top will be priced “significantly higher” than the sedan.
The Karma’s bodies will be built in Finland, by automotive R&D and small-production run specialist Valmet; Porsche uses Valmet to produce their Boxster and Cayman models.
Fisker lists some impressive specs for the rear-wheel drive hybrids, claiming 0-60 mph in less than 6 seconds, a top speed of 125 mph and two driving modes: efficient economy and sport. As in other hybrids, regenerative brakes capture the heat produced by braking and uses that energy to help recharge the lithium ion battery pack. Fisker adds a low center of gravity provides an “optimal sport vehicle driving dynamic.” Karmas are expected to have a range of over-300 miles.
Earlier this month, the company announced the opening of the Fisker Engineering and Development Center in Pontiac, MI. The company says the 34,000 square foot facility will house as many as 200 engineers and designers from Fisker and its suppliers.
Green Car Journal has selected the Karma as a finalist in its annual Green Car Vision Award
The company has also made a smart hire in Vic Doolan to run their dealership operations. Doolan is a former president of BMW North America and also ex-president, Volvo Cars North America; he knows as much as anyone in America about selling technologically-sophisticated and expensive European luxury cars.
Fisker’s North America corporate headquarters is in Irvine, CA. The company has backing from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Palo Alto Investors and QIA.
Some readers may remember that EV-maker Tesla Motors had sued Fisker Automotive, accusing the firm and its principals of stealing confidential information and delivering substandard designs. According to the Fisker website, in arbitration in December, 2008, a retired judge ruled in favor of Fisker on all counts and ordered Tesla to reimburse attorney fees and related expenses totaling more than $1.1 million.
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