Money Matters, Simplified.
Fisker to restore GM plant
by Ishita Sood - October 28, 2009 - comments
Vice President Joe Biden, in Wilmington Delaware, announcing the resurrection of GM plant by Fisker Automotive.
Delaware, October 28 -- Fisker Automotive, in the presence of Vice Presient Joe Biden and Delaware Gov. Jack Markell Tuesday announced its goal to revamp the General Motors assembly plant for the production of plug-in hybrid cars.
Fisker has agreed to pay Motors Liquidation Co., the successor of General Motors Corp., $18 million for the plant, which was closed during the summer.
The automotive company has been funded with a $528.7 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy which would support 2,000 factory, 3,000 vendor and support jobs by 2014.
It will be spending $175 million to revamp the unit after which its objective will be to produce 100,000 cars every year at the 3.2 million square-foot plant.
"While some wanted to write off America's auto industry, we said 'No.' we knew that we needed to do something different -- in Delaware and all across the nation," Biden said. "We understood a new chapter had to be written, a new chapter in which we strengthen American manufacturing by investing in innovation."
Plant and machinery
The GM plant holds 142 acres of land. More than 8.5 million cars have been manufactured there, including the big names Pontiac Streamliner, the Chevrolet Impala, the Saturn L-Series and the Pontiac Solstice.
Fisker said plug-in hybrid cars will help lower the country's dependence on foreign energy by eliminating the need for 42 million barrels of oil by 2016. They also will reduce 8 million tons of carbon-dioxide emissions.
"This is a major step toward establishing America as a leader of advanced vehicle technology," said Henrik Fisker, the company's chief executive.
New projects in the pipeline
Fisker's new vehicle, “NINA”, an affordable, family-oriented plug-in hybrid vehicle, will be made at the former GM Boxwood plant in 2012 and will cost $40,000 after federal tax rebates.
Even as many big names like Honda and Toyota of Japan are in line for the $40,000 market, the California-based company is boldly going for the same. The vehicle has yet to be designed but the engineering work on it has commenced.
On the other hand, its sports car “Karma” which costs around $80,000 is expected to be around in the summer of 2010. The low-volume Karma will be assembled in Finland by Valmet Automotive; the next generation Karma will be built entirely in the U.S.