Slides prepared by the PHEV start-up Fisker Automotive for an investor presentation and reported by Reuters indicate that the firm now aims to start production of its second Atlantic model in late 2014 or 2015 – at least two years later than initially planned.
“The Atlantic is really the volume car that begins to build growth,” Fisker’s recently-appointed Chief Executive Officer Tony Posawatz said during a conference call with investors and analysts on 15 October, echoing earlier advice from Fisker, which in turn echoed remarks by Tesla Motors executives about the commercial importance of that firm’s second model, the Model S four-seater pure EV.
The investor presentation was the first occasion on which Fisker has disclosed an approximate production timetable for the Atlantic, following the withholding of loan capital by the US Department of Energy because of delays in meeting various milestones, including the launch of the Karma PHEV.
Earlier this month, Posawatz told media that Fisker was in talks with potential strategic partners to cut development costs and raise funds to build the Atlantic, which the firm hopes to build at the Wilmington, Delaware assembly plant it has acquired from GM. The plant has more space than will be needed for the single Atlantic model, but Fisker has indicated it would welcome co-location there by suppliers who could provide a ‘manufacturing hub’ for future Fisker models.
One key Fisker supplier has been A123 Systems, Inc., which had to replace faulty battery packs supplied to the Fisker Karma line. On 16 October, A123 applied for to 11 bankruptcy protection to smooth the path to a planned takeover of its automotive battery business by Johnson Controls.
