2012 Fisker Karma on 2040-cars

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Fisker's 2023 Ocean vehicles face NHTSA's preliminary probe

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a preliminary probe into claims of unintended vehicle movement in about 4,000 of Fisker's 2023 Ocean electric sport utility vehicles, the agency said on Friday. The NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation received four complaints "alleging unintended vehicle movement" related to the 2023 Ocean model. The complaints alleged an inability to shift into the park mode or into the intended gear, which could result in an unintended vehicle movement, the U.S. auto safety agency added. One of the complaints alleged an injury, the NHTSA said. Fisker did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Henrik Fisker opens up about EVs

Danish car designer Henrik Fisker is an interesting figure in the automotive world. After heading up design at Aston Martin he created the initial design for the Tesla Model S before launching Fisker Automotive. There, he created the Karma range-extended electric sports car. As we all know, the company eventually went bankrupt, leaving Mr. Fisker's future in question. Now he's back on the scene with his $230,000 supercar, the VLF Force 1, which debuted at the 2016 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Interestingly the V10-powered Force 1, along with VLF's V8-powered Destino, is a huge departure from the green machines for which Fisker was responsible not too long ago. If that makes you curious as to what's going on inside the talented head of Henrik Fisker, you're not alone. Thankfully, Fisker has opened up to Tech Insider, discussing his thoughts on EVs and the future of the automotive world. While Fisker was part of the EV revolution – in his words, showing that "electric cars can be beautiful and exciting and fun to drive" – mass adoption has been slower than he originally predicted. The field is still too limited, with not much available in terms of what people want to buy. The driving range, too, is a huge obstacle to EV uptake, but that is slowly improving. "The choice for consumers is still fairly limited, but in my mind there's no doubt electric cars are here to stay," says Fisker. "It is going to be a growing segment and it will continue to grow." Fisker, however, is bearish on hybrids, despite their popularity. In his opinion, "electric cars will take over a lot of hybrids quicker than people think now." In an interesting prediction that defies more commonly held beliefs, hybrids don't have a place as a transition to EVs anymore. As infrastructure grows – along with battery capacity – people will "jump straight from gas to electric rather than make the transition to hybrid which is what a lot of car companies are betting on." It's an interesting point of view, to be sure, especially coming from a man who just recently took a pretty big leap from electric cars back to supercars whose fury is fed by fossil fuels. Take a deeper look into the mind of Henrik Fisker in the piece from Tech Insider. Related Video:

Karma Revero will be unveiled, with pricing, this summer

The Karma Revero, the high-end extended-range plug-in vehicle that will be the successor to the Fisker Karma, will have a prototype unveiled and will announce its pricing this summer, the Los Angeles Times says. Karma may produce as many as 3,000 vehicles a year out of its Southern California factory. The automaker, now owned by China-based Wanxiang Group, also may pursue the direct-to-consumer distribution model used by electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors, the Times says, citing Karma chief marketing officer Jim Taylor. The former Fisker Automotive's assets were acquired out of bankruptcy by Wanxiang Group in 2014 after Fisker, with its vehicles' 33-mile all-electric range, stopped making cars in 2012 and went under. The four-door Karma Revero, which is said to deliver more than 400 horsepower, will look similar to the Fisker Karma and will also likely be priced at more than $100,000. Karma is making the vehicles out of a 550,000-square-foot factory in Moreno Valley, California, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles. The production line at the Valmet factory in Finland where the first batch of Karmas was made was broken down into parts and shipped to California for the new plant, while about 120 finished Karmas that were never sold were eventually used for test vehicles. Karma officially changed its name from Fisker last year. Fisker, which at one time was going to build a second model called the Atlantic, was founded in 2007 by famed designer Henrik Fisker, who now helps run a coach-building company. Karma Automotive is also planning to build sales and engineering offices in Troy, Michigan, near Detroit, as the company is receiving some funding from the state of Michigan. About 150 workers will be housed at the $3.6 million facility. Related Video: