[SoCalGuy]

http://www.greencarreports.com/news...alled-til-bankrupt-battery-maker-a123-is-sold

This coupled with a new marketing guy/strategy might lead to some shortages of Karmas in 2013... net net a positive for current Karma owners...

 

[Antonin]

It is quite difficult to see why this is net net positive news for current Karma owners, but maybe I forgot to take my daily dose of Kool-Aid. The company will have to pay its workforce and administrative team without producing any new cars. I wonder how long their cash position can support this.
Another quite worrisome fact is that Fisker has not been sable to source out new battery supplier other than 123. Since resolution of 123 bankruptcy proceedings might be months away, I find this a very bad news for Karma owners.

 

[pythagoras]

Ya this could go either way. A short delay that clears out inventory is not necessarily bad but if it drags on several months will be troublesome.

 

[Lormax]

Affecting production? Sure, I can see that. Affecting warranty repairs? Not likely. With the latest software release, the frequency of battery problems that I've seen are much lower.

Time will tell

 

[doug]

I'm not seeing much of an upside, either. I think the more likely cause for the stoppage is soft demand and the A123 issue is being used as cover.

 

[SoCalGuy]

Makes the car more rare ... and there are still sales that will reduce existing dealer inventory, so we're less likely to see much price pressure on the current cars. I do agree if Fisker halts production too long it will be a negative event - but a few months hiatus could clear out stuff sitting on some lots.

 

[Harleyguy]

I worked with a former A123 technician this week with a battery problem he actually travels around the world fixing batteries on site providing that problem can be fixed on site .So far from what I was told it's working out great for Fisker and the customers since it lowers the down time of the car .I can't give out the numbers but there is a good supply of new batteries if needed .

 

[mungge]

I'm not seeing much of an upside, either. I think the more likely cause for the stoppage is soft demand and the A123 issue is being used as cover.

Agree, quite strange to make this announcement...what's the upside for such an announcement? It's like adding oil to the fire of the journalists who have been pounding Fisker for a long time. A clear communication misstep...

My read...demand is soft (despite the 300+ Karmas sold to hurricane Sandy, paid by insurance company) and Fisker is running again low on cash levels after recent 100mio+ capital raise...AND negotiation with possible partner (Fiat / Chrysler) for Atlantic and P Platform car is more challenging or even stalled...so they need to go into cash preservation...and now make use of A321 situation as an excuse. So this communication is very likely to pre-warn all investors that they need more money...let's not forget, their longtime fund raiser, Advanced Equities, went out of business and current investors will soon have enough of a further call..what Fisker needs is a capital injection from a strategic partner which will give them the leverage to do an IPO to raise the final amount to push he Atlantic through the door. Anything short of this will turn out to be a real challenge for Fisker...

Let's hope my thoughts are wrong...

 

[pythagoras]

I can't imagine they would want the usual jackal press response to this. More likely was an accidental slip by the not yet media-savvy CEO, or factory shutdown had leaked from Finland and this was their attempt at spin. The press went after Chevy Volt for a temporary shutdown this year too.

Other than a partnership announcement, best bet would seem to lay low let the jackals feed on somebody else until they can get a 2014 Karma announcement that addresses most of the press nitpicks.

Not sure who's worse Jalopnik or Consumer Reports. The latter just had to post the video of the February A123 battery failure on their live blog within hours, yet didn't get firmware updates and whined in their September final report about issues that were fixed for most customers in June. Henrik even met with those Consumer Reports guys I'm not a conspiratist but it's almost like Romney or some other automaker paid them off to be such jerks. They could have made the same "cramped space" and quirky nav system complaints about a DB9 or other supercar none of which they'd ever reviewed before.

 

[SoCalGuy]

I can't imagine they would want the usual jackal press response to this. More likely was an accidental slip by the not yet media-savvy CEO, or factory shutdown had leaked from Finland and this was their attempt at spin. The press went after Chevy Volt for a temporary shutdown this year too.

Other than a partnership announcement, best bet would seem to lay low let the jackals feed on somebody else until they can get a 2014 Karma announcement that addresses most of the press nitpicks.

Not sure who's worse Jalopnik or Consumer Reports. The latter just had to post the video of the February A123 battery failure on their live blog within hours, yet didn't get firmware updates and whined in their September final report about issues that were fixed for most customers in June. Henrik even met with those Consumer Reports guys I'm not a conspiratist but it's almost like Romney or some other automaker paid them off to be such jerks. They could have made the same "cramped space" and quirky nav system complaints about a DB9 or other supercar none of which they'd ever reviewed before.

Doubtful especially given that Consumer Reports praised the Tesla like no other car I've seen them review! But in any case,Fisker does need to hunker down and really re-tool their marketing strategy and messaging. They seem to be more reactive than proactive. Here's an example of a recent change that I think was dumb - albeit a small thing: in the auto shows from 2008-2010, the Karma was well positioned on the floor and behind velvet ropes ala Bentley, Ferrari, et al. Now, they are usually toward some obscure corner of the floor with no velvet ropes, allowing any member of the public to touch/sit in the car as if it were just like a Toyota or Ford. You'd never see Maserati or Aston do this - cars that have the same luxury appeal and rough price point. Fisker - you had looks/mystique/status as the one main thing going for you, now you minimize it by treating the gorgeously designed Karma as another Camry!

 

[AnOutsider]

I did see the karma on the floor at the NY auto show. You're right, it was off In a corner. I believe you were only allowed to get in one of them, but I thought it was a good idea to make the car more accessible. Might help draw in more buyers beyond the affluent first adopters.

 

[pythagoras]

If spaciousness was effectively their primary criteria that would account for consumer reports extra happiness with model S.

 

[Fabulist]

If spaciousness was effectively their primary criteria that would account for consumer reports extra happiness with model S.

The fact that the batteries worked straight out of the box prbably did not hurt either :s

 

[doug]

...in the auto shows from 2008-2010, the Karma was well positioned on the floor and behind velvet ropes ala Bentley, Ferrari, et al. Now, they are usually toward some obscure corner of the floor with no velvet ropes...

Being stuck in some obscure corner may have more to do with a dwindling marketing budget. I'm sure the premium spots cost accordingly. Having little to no marketing budget, Tesla seems to skip most of those shows all together.:-/

 

[doug]

Fisker won't restart production until A123 sale clears - Automotive News

"We plan to wait until Wanxiang takes full control of A123, then we will get in contact with them to negotiate a contract," Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher told Reuters. Once a deal is reached with A123's new owner, he said, "we can resume Karma production."

Until then, "we have a sufficient supply of cars," Ormisher said, who added, "We are not looking for a new battery supplier."
...

Ormisher said no Karmas have been assembled in Uusikaupunki since July, when the Finnish company begins a traditional summer break.

With the break in Karma production and a delay in the development of its second car, the Atlantic, Fisker has cut its workforce to around 300, Ormisher said.

 

[dennis]

I had missed this article previously, which states that the government review of the A123 sale to Wanxiang is for a 45 day period beginning 12/13. So it could be the end of January before Fisker knows who will own A123 and can renegotiate the Karma battery contract.

http://www.jsonline.com/business/45day-review-period-of-a123-sale-begins-ff80rk4-183278361.html

 

[CroDriver]

I'm not seeing much of an upside, either. I think the more likely cause for the stoppage is soft demand and the A123 issue is being used as cover.

Yeah...

We received 700 A123 cells directly from A123 after they filled for bankruptcy. We even wired money to them after the bankruptcy. And we're a (very) small customer compared to Fisker.

 

[doug]

Well I guess the main issue with A123 is that Fisker has to renegotiate their contract since the bankruptcy allows A123 to skip out on replacing current defective batteries and whatever else they may already owe Fisker. Also the terms for any supplier likely have to change when the actual units produced misses expectations by an order of magnitude.

But yeah, given that Fisker hasn't built a car in half a year, I'd view the A123 bankruptcy as practically decoupled from the production stoppage.

 

[dennis]

But yeah, given that Fisker hasn't built a car in half a year, I'd view the A123 bankruptcy as practically decoupled from the production stoppage.

But certainly not decoupled from resuming production...

 

[doug]

But certainly not decoupled from resuming production...

One would think. Though, previous statements from Fisker indicated that they had plenty of cells on hand for the near future. So who really knows? It's quite a chore to parse through all the spin to figure out what's really going on.

In the article which started this thread, Fisker blamed the stop of production on A123 and only admitted to having stalled for a month.