Fisker raises $115.3 million in funding to speed up Karma development

Fisker Automotive announced Friday that it has secured an additional $115.3 million in private equity funding to produce plug-in hybrid vehicles. Fisker said that the funding was necessary for it to access a $528.7 million U.S. Department of Energy loan that will help it speed production of the Fisker Karma sedan, the automaker’s first plug-in hybrid.

“Raising $115 million in these times speaks volumes about the value of our business model and the vast potential of plug-in hybrids,” said Henrik Fisker, CEO.

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The investors include A123 Systems, Ace Investments and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Earlier this week, Fisker signed an agreement with A123 Systems for the lithium-ion batteries that will power the Karma.

Besides the $87,900 Karma sedan, Fisker also plans on producing a lower-cost plug-in hybrid technology for a second, family-oriented car code named Project NINA. Project NINA is expected to be built in Wilmington, Delaware at a former General Motors assembly plant starting in 2012.

– By: Stephen Calogera