(UPDATED: Wed. April 4 at 10:15am with State of Delaware reaction)
Fisker Automotive unveiled the long-awaited luxury hybrid-electric car it planned to build at the former GM Boxwood Road plant in Newport Tuesday. But that new model, named the Atlantic, may not be built in Delaware after all.
The low-slung, cherry red sports sedan prototype, known as Project Nina since plans to build in Delaware were announced, was presented at a press launch on the eve of the New York Auto Show.
But Fisker officials now indicate plans to produce the car in the First State could change based on how financing of the Atlantic moves forward.
In an interview with the Automotive News, CEO Tom LaSorda discussed Fisker’s options.
“Wilmington is our primary site...but there are other options. We have to look at what’s best for the company and the shareholders,” LaSorda told the Automotive News.
The Anaheim, Calif.-based company has had a series of setbacks including the temporary withdrawal of a $529 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy because of missed production and sales targets.
In early February, the company laid off 26 workers who were preparing the Boxwood Road plant for Fisker production, and “temporarily delayed” work on the Nina project because it had to renegotiate the DOE loan.
Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher told DFM News that efforts to renegotiate the DOE loan continue and that production in Wilmington could begin "as soon as we have funding secured from the DoE or alternative sources."
Fisker has been actively pursuing private investment. LaSorda, a former head of Chrysler who came out of retirement to join Fisker at the end of February, said the company raised $130 million in March from private sources, as well as a total of $75 million in January and February.
Project Nina was due to begin producing prototypes late this year and to start selling to the public in mid-2013. The original schedule planned on full production by 2014, creating 1,500 jobs in Delaware.
Delaware provided $21.5 million in state Strategic Fund money to assist Fisker in reviving the Boxwood Road plant. $12.5 million was in the form of a loan that will convert to a grant if the company generates 2,495 direct and indirect jobs over five years. The remaining $9 million was for utility costs.
"When Fisker and the Department of Energy reached an impasse over the distribution of the remaining [federal] loan, Fisker made clear they did not have the capital necessary to build out the Boxwood Road plant," said Brian Selander, a spokesman for Gov. Jack Markell (D), in a statement. "Fisker said again during the unveiling that their first choice remains to build their next car in Delaware. That remains our first choice as well. If it becomes clear that Fisker’s need for additional capital leads them to build elsewhere, we will vigorously enforce our rights to recovery under the state’s loan agreement."
In his own statement, Alan Levin, director of the Delaware Economic Development Office, added that the state realized the DOE loan deferral changed the timeline for the start any production at the former GM plant, but he believes Delaware is still a viable option for Fisker.
“Reports from [Tuesday] night do not mean the project is lost. Fisker chose Delaware over many other locations across the country and our state remains its first choice," said Levin. "Thanks to the hard work that’s already been completed, the site is better than ever. We will continue to work with Fisker to help it achieve our shared commitment to build its cars in Delaware.”
Despite the uncertainty where the Atlantic will be built, Fisker founder and Executive Chairman Henrik Fisker Tuesday sought to dispel any doubts that the project will go ahead.
“We want to make it clear that this car will be built, and it will go into production,” he said at the launch. He called he new model “90 percent developed.”
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Click to view slideshow of Fisker Atlantic (Photos courtesy: Fisker Automotive)"]
“When we started in 2007, nobody was talking about electric vehicles with extended range,” Fisker said. “We think that is exactly the right car for the times.”
He added: “It’s been an amazing journey and a difficult journey but we are here.”
LaSorda said the Atlantic will have a “much lower price point” than its existing model, the $103,000 Karma. The company has previously said the new model will sell for $50,000-$60,000.
In January, the company recalled the Karma model, also a plug-in electric hybrid, because of a possible fire risk in connection with hose clamps on its battery.