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Automotive Industry
AUTOS: Delaware Factory To Build Fisker Hybrids
Future generation of plug-in hybrid sedans planned for former General Motors sports-car plant. .
Bob Golfen  |  Posted October 27, 2009   Wilmington, DE.
Car designer Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Automotive, said the Wilmington factory will produce up to 100,000 plug-in hybrids per year. (Photo: Fisker Automotive)
Fisker Automotive will buy and refurbish a former General Motors factory in Wilmington, Del., to build a new generation of affordable plug-in hybrid sedans, the company announced Tuesday.

Joined by Vice President Joe Biden, Delaware’s former Senator, and Gov. Jack Markell, Fisker executives announced the plan to buy the shut-down plant for $18 million from the Motors Liquidation Co., the entity that is disposing the bankrupt assets of the “old” GM.

The Wilmington Assembly plant was selected for its "size, production capacity, world-class paint facilities, access to shipping ports, rail lines and available skilled workforce," Fisker said in a press release. The company expects to spend another $175 million to refurbish and retool the factory.

The factory built Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky sports cars until it was shut down in July. The Pontiac and Saturn brands are being discontinued as part of GM’s reorganization plan.

“This is a major step toward establishing America as a leader of advanced vehicle technology,” said Henrik Fisker, CEO of the private automaker based in Irvine, Ca. “Wilmington is perfect for high-quality, low-volume production and will soon be the proud builder of world-class, fuel-efficient Fisker plug-in hybrids.”

The plant will be used for the development and production of a family oriented hybrid sedan that will cost about $40,000, Fisker said, under a company program named Project NINA. Production is scheduled to begin in 2012 with an anticipated capacity of up to 100,000 cars per year. The new factory will have a workforce of about 2,000.

The factory refurbishing and vehicle production is being done in partnership with the United Auto Workers, Fisker said, with a representative from the local branch of the union present at the announcement.

Fisker recently received approval for a $528.7 million federal loan, most of which will be used to develop and produce the new hybrids. Part of the government funding also will help Fisker bring to market its first plug-in hybrid project, the exotic Karma sports coupe.

Karma will be introduced next summer with a price starting at $88,000, the company said. The swoopy sedan is being built by Valmet Automotive in Finland, and about 1,500 of them have been pre-sold.

The federal loan is part of the $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing loan program appropriated by Congress in 2007 to help the United States lead in the development and manufacturing of advanced technology vehicles.
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