Often, great innovation occurs from smaller, more nimble companies. This has been the case in almost every industry. But the auto industry has not been one of those
industries for the last 50 years. Most of this is due to the fact that the barriers to entry in the auto industry are so high. There are tons of costs in design and manufacturing that limit any new start-ups coming along. Luckily one company has broken through and is making quite the splash at the Detroit Auto Show. Fisker Automotive is riding the wave of environmental consciousness that is sweeping the globe, Fisker Automotive has developed a hybrid prototype car, the Karma. The Karma is a plug in hybrid that is a 4-door sedan with amazingly sleek lines.
According to Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Automotive, the car’s sleek design is “a direct result of our breakthrough chassis which carries the battery pack at the center of the vehicle between the two axles.” He went on to say the car’s design will enable it to achieve “industry standard performance figures within this car class.” It is a true hybrid that allows a driver to go 50 miles with just an electric charge and can do 100 MPG when it is running under a gas/electric combo. It is also not short on get up and go capabilities with a 0 to 60 in 6 seconds.
Fisker is predicting 15,000 cars per year in production when they start deliveries at the end of 2009.
We hope they succeed. The car industry needs great outside the box thinking.
