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Fisker creditors want a repayment do-over

In February, the Chinese company Wanxiang won control of Fisker Automotive at a bankruptcy auction for a final bid of $149.2 million. The sale meant that Wanxiang would now have to deal with all of the creditors claiming that Fisker owed them money. Those individuals and groups had a combined $1 billion in claims, and they're not happy with how the bankruptcy is shaking out. In April, a settlement was announced that would see those unsecured creditors get back pennies on the dollar. The unsecured creditors are telling the bankruptcy court that they want the judge to take away control of the bankruptcy proceedings from Fisker and implement a new repayment plan. The request was filed by a committee representing the creditors, which said it could have the new plan submitted in a matter of days, if the judge agrees with the request. The committee says there are "unreasonable demands" in the current repayment plan, such as a big paycheck for Fisker's chief restructuring officer, worth $750,000. If the judge allows the unsecured creditors to file a new plan, it will result in the "best possible outcome," the filing said. We admit we're feeling a bit confused and dragged along by the Fisker bankruptcy proceedings. And we're quite sure that the new owners have got to be fed up as well, since they're likely to be in a bit of a time crunch if the company's really going to re-start Karma production next year.

Fisker will adopt Tesla's NACS EV charging connector by 2025

Electric vehicle startup Fisker said on Tuesday it signed a deal with Tesla to adopt its North American Charging Standard (NACS), giving Fisker customers access to the automaker's Supercharger network by 2025. A plethora of automakers, including Ford Motor and General Motors, are moving away from the standard Combined Charging System (CCS) connector to Tesla's previously proprietary charging design, which is set to dominate the industry. Fisker said its vehicles made 2025 onwards will have the NACS port for charging, while other customers can use an adapter to access Tesla's 12,000-strong network of public fast chargers in the U.S. and Canada. The company will continue to provide an adapter for the CCS if customers wish to continue using the technology, the EV maker said. Tesla's recent deals represent major strides in displacing a rival standard, CCS, that earlier exclusively had the backing of President Joe Biden's administration. The government is offering $7.5 billion in funding to speed the deployment of EV chargers in the United States. Most automakers have shied away from building large charging networks as installing and maintaining chargers requires a substantial investment for still-limited returns. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Green Fisker Tesla Electric Infrastructure

2017 Karma Revero starts at $130,000, and more new details about the reborn Fisker

It was not obvious that the eyes of the automotive world would focus on Huntington Beach, California today for the launch (sort of a relaunch) of the Karma Revero. The unlikely rebirth of the Fisker Karma has taken a long while, and you'll be forgiven if you thought that Fisker's bankruptcy filing in 2013 signaled the end of the swoopy plug-in hybrid. Sure, at the time there was talk of the Karma returning some day, but in the era of plug-in vehicle pioneers like Aptera, Bright Automotive, and Phoenix Motorcars fading away in the figurative pages of Chapter 11 filings, who really thought it would happen? Wanxiang, that's who. Based in China, Wanxiang bought the rights to the Fisker assests back in February 2014 for $149.2 million. As we learned today in Huntington Beach, there were only 22 Fisker employees left at that time. A year later, in March 2015, the new Karma Automotive had 203 employees. There were 697 in August 2016 and the plan calls for 967 by the end of 2016. That's just one example of the intentional and dramatic growth that Karma is putting into bringing the Revero to market. Or back to market. Whatever. Here are seven things we learned about the Revero and Karma Automotive. The MSRP will be $130,000. The Fisker Karma started at $103,000, so the Revero's new $130,000 starting price tag is a bit of a jump. Aside from colors, wheels, and calipers, there won't be many options, either. Of course, there's a lot that's new and different about the car, and that costs money, but if you couldn't afford a Fisker, don't bother shopping for a Revero. The gas engine and most of the remains the same, but there have been upgrades. Just like the Fisker, the Revero uses a 260-horsepower, turbocharged four-cylinder engine from General Motors. But on the electrical side, things have gotten better. DC fast-charging at 40 kW is now available and the on-board charger has been upgraded from 3.3 kW to 6.6 kW. The battery is similar (it still uses A123 cells, which isn't a surprise), but the capacity has been increased from 20.4 kWh to 21.4 kWh, which will be good for 50 miles or range. The 0-60 time has been dropped by a second to 5.4 seconds in Sport mode. Nothing has been finalized yet, but apparently Karma expects the EPA fuel efficiency numbers to be roughly the same as before. The infotainment system has been totally redone.