Automotive
Fisker Automotive
Fisker Automotive built the Karma, a gorgeous $100,000 plug-in hybrid designed by Henrik Fisker, on a $529 million federal loan. The car arrived a year and a half late, broke down in a Consumer Reports test, caught fire, and was recalled. When its only battery supplier, A123, went bankrupt in 2012 and the government froze the loan, production stopped, and Fisker collapsed into bankruptcy in 2013.
- Company
- Fisker Automotive
- Started
- 2009
- Ended
- 2013
- Of a $529M federal loan, the amount drawn before it was frozen
- $193M
- Public cost
- Estimated: $139,000,000 [5]
- Collapse speed
- Gradual
- Preventability
- Medium
- Lesson transfer
- Industry-wide
- Last reviewed
- 2026-07-24
Narrative
The story
The ambition
Fisker Automotive wanted to prove that an electric car could be an object of desire. Led by the Danish designer Henrik Fisker, whose credits included some of the most beautiful cars on the road, the company's flagship Karma was a low, sculpted plug-in hybrid sports sedan priced around $100,000 to $107,000, built in Finland, and meant to make going green glamorous. The federal government believed in the vision too, backing Fisker with a $529 million Department of Energy loan under a program to jump-start advanced vehicles, and Fisker planned a second, cheaper model, the Nina, at around $50,000 to reach a wider market.
The rise
For a while Fisker looked like the stylish counterpoint to Tesla. It raised money, drew deposits, and in July 2011 began delivering the Karma to well-heeled early adopters who wanted something rarer and prettier than anything else that plugged in.
The cracks
Then reality set in on every front at once. The Karma arrived about eighteen months late, and it was not ready. In March 2012 a $107,000 Karma died during a Consumer Reports test after fewer than 200 miles, undrivable before the magazine had even finished checking it in, an almost unheard-of failure. Fires and recalls followed. The Department of Energy, seeing missed milestones, froze the loan after Fisker had drawn only about $193 million of the $529 million, and without that money the cheaper Nina was suspended. Fisker had also made itself dangerously dependent on a single battery supplier, A123 Systems, and in October 2012 A123 went bankrupt, halting Karma production entirely. Hurricane Sandy then destroyed more than 300 Karmas sitting at a New Jersey port.
The collapse
The company could no longer build cars or raise money, and the vision could not survive the execution. In March 2013 Henrik Fisker resigned as executive chairman amid strategic disagreements, and later that year Fisker Automotive collapsed into bankruptcy. Its assets were eventually bought by a Chinese company, leaving American taxpayers a loss of roughly $139 million on the federal loan.
The aftermath
Henrik Fisker would later start again with a new company under his own name, which itself ran into deep trouble years afterward. Fisker Automotive became a standard cautionary tale of green-car ambition: proof that a stunning design and a government check cannot substitute for the ability to manufacture a reliable car and manage a supply chain.
The lessons
Design and funding are the easy part; building the thing reliably is the company. Fisker had a car people genuinely wanted and a large federal loan behind it, and it still failed, because the Karma shipped late and broke, because Fisker leaned its entire production on one battery maker that went under, and because missed milestones froze the money it needed to continue. Cars are a manufacturing and supply-chain business first; a beautiful product that cannot be built well, on time, and without a single point of failure is a bankruptcy waiting to happen.
Causal timeline
Failure Anatomy
- 2011
A beautiful plug-in hybrid
Led by designer Henrik Fisker, Fisker Automotive built the Karma, a roughly $100,000 plug-in hybrid sports sedan made in Finland, backed by a $529 million DOE loan, with a cheaper Nina planned around $50,000. [1]
- 2012-03
Late and unreliable
The Karma arrived about 18 months late; in March 2012 a $107,000 example died during a Consumer Reports test after fewer than 200 miles, and fires and recalls followed. [2]
Poor execution - 2012
The loan freezes
The DOE froze Fisker's loan after missed milestones, with only about $193 million of $529 million drawn, cutting off funding and suspending the cheaper Nina. [3]
Unsustainable economics - 2012-10
The battery supplier fails
In October 2012 Fisker's sole battery supplier, A123 Systems, went bankrupt, halting Karma production; Hurricane Sandy then destroyed more than 300 Karmas at a New Jersey port. [4]
Platform dependencyExternal shock - 2013
Founder exit and bankruptcy
Henrik Fisker resigned as executive chairman in March 2013, and Fisker Automotive collapsed into bankruptcy later that year; its assets were bought by a Chinese company, costing taxpayers about $139 million on the loan. [5]
Structured analysis
What Went Wrong
Root causes
A car it could not build reliably. The Karma arrived about 18 months late with serious quality problems, including a public Consumer Reports breakdown, fires, and recalls, undermining the product and the company's credibility. [2]
One battery supplier. Fisker depended on a single battery supplier, A123 Systems, and when A123 went bankrupt in October 2012, Karma production halted entirely. [4]
Contributing factors
The federal loan froze. After Fisker missed milestones on the Karma, the DOE froze its loan with only about $193 million of $529 million drawn, cutting off the money needed to continue and suspending the cheaper Nina. [3]
Hurricane Sandy. Hurricane Sandy destroyed more than 300 Karmas at a New Jersey port in late 2012, compounding the company's losses. [4]
Immediate trigger
A123 bankruptcy halts production. A123's October 2012 bankruptcy stopped Karma production, and with the loan frozen and no cars being built, Fisker slid into bankruptcy in 2013. [4] [5]
Visible symptoms
Public breakdowns and recalls. A $107,000 Karma died during a March 2012 Consumer Reports test after fewer than 200 miles, and the model suffered fires and recalls. [2]
Warning signs
Milestones missed, loan frozen. The DOE froze Fisker's loan after missed milestones, an early sign the company could not execute its plan on schedule or budget. [3]
Affected groups
Keep reading
Related failures
Evidence
Claims & sources
Every numbered marker in the analysis links to the claim it rests on, and each claim to its sources.
- [1]
Fisker Automotive, led by designer Henrik Fisker, built the Karma, a roughly $100,000 plug-in hybrid sports sedan made in Finland, backed by a $529 million US Department of Energy loan, with a cheaper Nina model planned around $50,000.
- [2]
The Karma arrived about 18 months late and suffered serious quality problems, including a $107,000 example dying during a March 2012 Consumer Reports test after fewer than 200 miles, plus fires and recalls.
- [3]
The Department of Energy froze Fisker's loan after the company missed milestones, with only about $193 million of the $529 million drawn, cutting off funding and forcing suspension of the cheaper Nina.
- [4]
Fisker depended on a single battery supplier, A123 Systems, whose October 2012 bankruptcy halted Karma production, and Hurricane Sandy destroyed more than 300 Karmas at a New Jersey port around the same time.
- [5]
Henrik Fisker resigned in March 2013 and Fisker Automotive collapsed into bankruptcy that year; its assets were bought by a Chinese company, leaving taxpayers a loss of about $139 million on the federal loan.
Sources
Fisker Karma production has been halted for a month, A123 Systems' bankruptcy to blame
Engadget · 2012-11-30
Fisker, Like Other EV Makers, Loses Its Founder
Forbes · 2013-03-14