The Rebirth Of Fisker Automotive Begins In California

Fisker is known as the high-style, high-performance electric carmaker that wasn’t able to achieve the same level of success as Tesla. However, after being saved from bankruptcy last year through a $149.2 million buyout, the company is now planning its rebirth.

The new owners of Fisker, Wanxiang of China, already have offices and approximately 200 employees in Costa Mesa, California. The Orange County Register indicates that a new 556,000-square-foot Fisker factory will be built 60 miles east of Los Angeles, in Moreno Valley.

The company plans to relaunch its Karma vehicle at the new facility and expects to create 150 full-time manufacturing jobs at the factory. Although the company had talked about renaming the car, representative Judy Hoste told Fortune that, at least for now, the new car will also be named Karma. Fisker hasn’t provided any details yet about the expected price of the car or when production will commence.

“FATG [Fisker Automotive and Technology Group] believes in the quality, work ethic and competitiveness of manufacturing in the United States,” said marketing chief James Taylor in a statement. “California’s natural beauty, trend setting, technology, and environmental focus are perfectly aligned with our Karma relaunch.”

The automaker must make some changes in order to have a chance at success this time around, and the relaunch is said to include the fix of over 250 bugs in the original Fisker design, as well as a much higher MSRP. It’s rare for an automaker to get a second chance in the way that Fisker is experiencing, and it will be interesting to see if it works for the company.

What the company didn’t mention is that the new factory is being built in the same area as Tesla’s facility in Palo Alto, California. Since Fisker went bust in 2014, Tesla has certainly been very busy. By constantly improving its original models in addition to developing new vehicles such as the upcoming Model X crossover, Model 3, and the Model 3-based crossover, Tesla has provided many compelling reasons for consumers to choose its vehicles over those from Fisker.

On the other side, Fisker is making significant efforts to bring its brand back into the public consciousness. For one, the company recently got in touch with existing Karma owners and offered them a customer support program that includes a list of service centers for the vehicle. Also, considering the fact that Wanxiang is willing to invest money to try to make Fisker relevant, there’s certainly a reasonable chance for success. Truly, only time will tell whether or not Fisker will be able to expand beyond its current place as a niche automaker.

Will car enthusiasts be willing to buy the Karma over other electric vehicles such as the Tesla Model S?