Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid
The last we heard, Fisker had delayed the U.S. launch of its Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sedan yet again, this time until July, but now the company has come out and announced that it’s already hiring for its next major project.
Back in 2009 Fisker acquired the rights to a former GM plant in Delaware, a plant that was previously responsible for the Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky and Opel GT range. Now, thanks to investments ranging into the hundreds of millions of dollars, Fisker is starting a hiring program for staff to work on the company’s second model: Project Nina.
The plan for 2011 will encompass the hiring of about 120 employees. This initial group will be made up mostly of engineering staff, electro-mechanical technicians, and early teams of production workers as Fisker starts preparing for the launch of Project Nina at the end of next year.
All-in-all, Fisker expects to have created around 600 new jobs once hiring at the Delaware plant is complete.
Project Nina, whose final name is yet to be revealed, will be a mid-size luxury sedan with a detuned version of the same ‘Q-Drive’ setup found in the Karma. Production numbers are expected to reach as high as 75,000 units per year by as early as 2014.
Additionally, Fisker has also revealed that customers of its Karma will be plugging their cars for charging into custom wall units installed in their homes by EV Connect. The 240 volt wall units will be built by the Lear Corporation, which also supplies charging units for the Chevrolet Volt, and cost about $2,295 for the unit itself plus installation
