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Fisker looking to hire 37 at career fair this week

Fisker Automotive appears to be kicking off its first round of hiring in Southern California since the high-end extended-range plug-in vehicle company went belly-up two years ago. The company, which is based in Costa Mesa, CA, says it wants to hire about three-dozen people at a job fair in California's Riverside County this week, according to local paper the Press-Enterprise. Fisker is building a 556,000-square-foot plant in the city of Moreno Valley, which is about 60 miles east of Los Angeles. The hirings are part of a job fair that is being put on by the Moreno Valley Employment Resource Center. Fisker will pay as much as $26 an hour for positions in the factory's body shop as well as some mechanical and quality-assurance positions. Fisker is looking to eventually bring in 150 full-time workers as early as next year. The company is said to already employ about 200 people at its home offices. Those interested in the factory positions can find job descriptions at rivcoworkforce.com. Reports about the new Fisker factory started surfacing in June. The company, which is now owned by China-based Wanxiang, is believed to be working on a revised Karma model called the Elux. Fisker built about 2,600 of its Karma plug-in vehicles before halting production in 2012 and going bankrupt a year later. Wanxiang acquired Fisker out of bankruptcy in early 2014 for $149.2 million. Since then, the company has launched a site called thenewfisker.com. The site is designed to offer parts and service of the Karma vehicles. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2012 Fisker Karma: First Drive View 23 Photos News Source: Press-Enterprise Green Plants/Manufacturing Fisker Hybrid California wanxiang karma employment job

Fisker, Quantum pairing up to relaunch Karma PHEV

The upcoming relaunched Fisker Karma will look a lot like the old one. Turns out, the brains of the car will share a lot with the old Karma as well. Fisker (and its new owner, Wanxiang) and Quantum Technologies have announced a deal worth over $5 million. Quantum is going to license its plug-in hybrid control software to Fisker in exchange for $2 million this month and another $2 million a year from now. The first payment will be used to get the software into the relaunched Karma and the next payment is for "Fisker Auto Group's planned Atlantic vehicle line." Fisker has the option to pay more by October 27, 2016 to "acquire joint-ownership of the hybrid control software for the Karma, Atlantic and future platforms." There's another part of the deal worth "approximately $1.35 million" for software development services over the coming year. If this all has a somewhat familiar ring to you, you might be thinking about the $10.2 million that Fisker gave Quantum five years ago to develop the PHEV powertrain when it was still called the "Q-Drive plug-in hybrid system." The fact that we're talking about a relaunch now tells us something about how that all turned out. Maybe it'll be better this time, if those 250 bugs get squashed. Quantum Technologies Enters into License Agreement with Fisker Automotive and Technologies Group LLC to provide Plug-In Hybrid Control Software to Support Re-Launch of the Fisker Karma Vehicle - Control Software Agreement to provide Quantum with more than $5.0 million over the coming year - Control software license to cover Fisker Karma and Atlantic series with option for joint-ownership for these and other future platforms LAKE FOREST, Calif., Nov. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc. ("Quantum") (NASDAQ: QTWW), a global leader in natural gas storage systems, integration, and vehicle system technologies, today announced it has entered into an agreement with Fisker Automotive and Technologies Group LLC ("Fisker Auto Group") pursuant to which Quantum will license its plug-in hybrid control software to Fisker Auto Group and, in return, will receive an initial payment of $2.0 million on or before November 27, 2014, and a second payment of $2.0 million on or before October 27, 2015.

Troubled Fisker slashes price of leftover 2023 models

Fisker announced a round of drastic price cuts in a bid to offload its inventory of unsold 2023-model-year cars and hoist itself out of dire financial straits. The only model in its range, an electric crossover called Ocean, will cost up to $24,000 less beginning on March 29, 2024. The company offers three Ocean trim levels called Extreme, Ultra, and Sport, respectively. Updated pricing is as follows. 2023 Ocean Extreme: $37,499 ($24,000 less than before) 2023 Ocean Ultra: $34,999 ($18,000 less than before) 2023 Ocean Sport: $24,999 ($14,000 less than before) Note that these figures exclude destination and available incentives. Fisker notes that the price cuts only apply to 2023 models, which could deter some buyers. While these are new cars, and they feature the 2024 version of the company's operating system, some rival brands are already rolling out their 2025 models. To sweeten the deal, Fisker points out that the leftover 2023s are equipped with up to $7,000 in options including 22-inch wheels and extra-cost paint colors. Time will tell whether these massive discounts ($24,000 is about the price of a new Hyundai Kona) will allow the brand to trim down excess inventory. The Ocean's launch has been dotted with problems, including loss of power while driving, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a preliminary probe into the crossover due to four complaints "alleging unintended vehicle movement." Meanwhile, all is not well at Fisker. The company laid off about 15% of its staff earlier in March 2024 and warned that it risks running out of money. It later paused production of the Ocean, which is built in Austria by contract manufacturer Magna, because it's sitting on a global inventory of around 4,700 unsold cars worth over $200 million. Its shares were suspended from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as talks with a major carmaker, widely rumored to be Nissan, fell through. Fisker has reportedly hired advisers for a potential bankruptcy.