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Fisker officially unveils its new EMotion all-electric vehicle with 400-mile range https://electrek.co/2018/01/09/fisker-new-emotion-all-electric-vehicle-400-mile-range/ After months of teasing, so much so that we had actually seen pretty much the entire vehicle and we have been aware of its main specs, Fisker officially launched its new EMotion all-electric vehicle at CES in Las Vegas last night. Henrik Fisker, chairman and CEO of Fisker Inc., commented on the launch: “We are truly entering a new era in the way the world thinks about vehicles, the way EVs are charged and the way personal consumer electronics are powered – with Fisker Inc. now clearly at the forefront of that revolution through our worldwide launches at CES. With the EMotion, we’re introducing edgy, dramatic and emotionally-charged design/proportions – complemented with technological innovation that moves us into the future. That design balance is what has made the Fisker brand emotionally connect with our consumers.” As previously reported, Fisker claims a range of ‘over 400 miles of range’, ‘9-minute charging’, and a $130,000 price tag. We already had a pretty good look at the exterior of the Emotion with previous teasers, but the official launch gives our best look yet at the interior of the vehicle: Fisker listed some interior comfort and convenience features in the EMotion: Interior: Defining the Future of Luxury Ultra-Soft Premium Leather Interior Color: Caramel and Midnight Black (Fisker was the first automotive brand to offer a vegan interior as an option – and will do so again with the EMotion) Three Driver-Oriented Screens, With Center Curved Screen Inductive Charging Ports and Special Holders For Four Smartphones (Partially visible) Carbon Fiber Center Console with Additional Storage Space for Tablets and Accessories Four Individual, Electric Adjustable First-Class Seats Optional 27″ Curved Rear Screen For “Chauffeur Edition” Five Seats, Rear Bench Option Individual Four Zone Electric Adjustable Tinted Roof: Electrochromic Glass in Collaboration with Lipik Fisker previously said that his new startup plans to bring the vehicle to market in low volume in 2019, but he didn’t elaborate on the plans at the launch this week. Instead, he said that the EMotion “will be produced in the United States at a location to be announced during the second half of 2018.” With the official unveiling of the vehicle, Fisker also showcased its new solid-state battery, which he claimed achieved a ‘breakthrough’ earlier this year to enable electric cars with ‘500 miles range and 1 min charging’. He commented: “We’ve also made the seemingly impossible, possible with our scientists spearheading the breakthrough in Flexible Solid-State battery technology – which is the next generation in charging everything from your personal cell phone to enabling mass adoption of electric vehicles due to unprecedented ranges and lighting fast charge times. We’re incredibly excited to showcase working solid-state batteries and the vehicle, in-person, on such a massive global stage. Fisker Inc. is about breaking barriers, leading in automotive technologies and ultimately creating the most desirable, functional futuristic electric vehicles.” When announcing the new battery earlier this year, Fisker said that they anticipated automotive production grade to be ready around 2023, but they have now aggressively updated this timeline to 2020 and they even claim that personal electronics/cell phone battery production could arrive “earlier – and possibly in 2018.”

Chinese auto giant Wanxiang wins Fisker bid By Katie Fehrenbacher Summary: Chinese auto parts giant Wanxiang has won a bid for electric car maker Fisker for $149 million, and a judge has approved it. Will they restart production of the Karma and make the Atlantic soon? A Delaware judge approved the sale of bankrupt electric car maker Fisker and its assets to Chinese auto parts giant Wanxiang, according to local reports on Tuesday. Wanxiang, which also bought up bankrupt battery maker A123 Systems in late 2012, won the bid over Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li’s company Hybrid Technology, and the auction occurred over the end of last week. As Quartz put it, the auction had “pitted two Chinese billionaires against one another: Wanxiang’s Lu Guanqiu vs. Hong Kong telecoms titan Richard Li.” Wanxiang bid $149 million for Fisker, which is substantially larger than some earlier prices that had been offered, but just a fraction of Fisker’s valuation at one time. Lu’s advantages were that Wanxiang owns A123 — which made the batteries for Fisker’s Karma car — and also that he appeared to be willing to bail out unsecured creditors. Ray Lane’s Fisker Karma Wanxiang has said if it wins the bid it can soon restart production on Fisker’s first electric car, the Karma, and it can start providing parts and services for current Karmas on the roads. It will also resume development of the second car, the Atlantic. Only about 2,000 Karmas were sold before Fisker stopped production. Wanxiang’s U.S. division, based in Elgin, Illinois, has 6,000 workers in the U.S. and $2.5 billion in annual revenue. The Chinese company has a total of $13 billion in revenue and 45,000 employees across the world. The head of Wanxiang America, Pin Li, called cleantech “the new frontier for civilization,” in an interview with me a couple years ago. The company is involved in all types of clean technology, from electric cars, to solar, to wind farms, to batteries. Wanxiang has also invested $420 million into GreatPoint Energy, a company based in Cambridge, Mass. that converts coal into cleaner-burning natural gas. At the time that deal was described by the Wall Street Journal as “the largest ever by a Chinese corporation into a venture-capital-funded U.S. company.” Wanxiang also invested in another struggling company electric car company Smith Electric Vehicles. As with Wanxiang’s deal with A123, controversy will follow the realization that a Chinese conglomerate will likely be taking over an electric car maker that got substantial funding from the U.S. government. But as I reported yesterday, there’s money coming from Asia for some of these hard to fund cleantech innovations. Is the world ready for more Karmas? The car received weak reviews and the brand has been tarnished substantially. But clearly there’s been high demand for Tesla and its cars, so if a revived Fisker can overcome its past problems, it could find a market for its cars.

[extract] When I first laid my eyes on the new Fisker Atlantic design prototype, it simply took my breath away. I personally feel, that this is the most promosing four door coupe to date among all in the same category, including the likes of Audi and Mercedes Benz. The Atlantic is presented at a special event before its world premiere at the New York Auto Show on 4 April 12. The Atlantic will be Fisker