New Fisker owner ready to go broke building EVs, challenging Tesla
Sebastian Blanco
Now this is the kind of fighting spirit we like to see. Lu Guanqiu is a Chinese billionaire who has visited the White House alongside Chinese president Hu Jintao in 2011. He's worth an estimated $3.1 billion. And he wants to take on Tesla Motors and other EV makers with his newly purchased company, Fisker Automotive.
Lu is the chairman and founder of China's Wanxiang Group Corp., which bought Fisker for just under $150 million earlier this year. It also purchased battery supplier A123 Systems last year. Speaking to Bloomberg recently, Lu said that EV technology is at the top of his list of ways to go broke. "I'll put every cent that Wanxiang earns into making electric vehicles. I'll burn as much cash as it takes to succeed, or until Wanxiang goes bust," he said. Ahhh, inspiring.
"I'll burn as much cash as it takes to succeed, or until Wanxiang goes bust" – Lu GuanqiuExactly how and when new Fisker vehicles come to market - or if they'll even be Fiskers when they do – has been the subject of some debate. As part of the Fisker bankruptcy auction, Lu and Wanxiang now own an old, empty General Motors plant in Wilmington, DE. Lu told Bloomberg that Wanxiang has plans to first start building EVs, including the Karma plug-in hybrid, in the US (which suggests that restarting Karma production at Valmet is not going to happen) and to later build them in China. Right now, Lu's company only makes one type of electric vehicle: buses. Lu told Bloomberg he knows it will take a while to get his electric cars to market: "The road is still very long. We want to concentrate for now on manufacturing in the US. If I don't succeed, my son will continue with it. If he doesn't make it, my grandson will."
Currently, emails sent to the "New Fisker" website are met with an automated response that promises a more personal touch later. It also says that the company is "very well funded and have a great plan to create a world class automotive company." That the new owner is ready to go broke doing so is not mentioned.
You can read the New Fisker email and see a Bloomberg video on Lu below.
Show full PR textDear Fisker enthusiast,
We at 'The New Fisker' would like to sincerely thank you for the email you sent via the website and greatly appreciate the time you have taken to reach out to the new company. The details of your correspondence are being reviewed by members of our devoted team, who are truly passionate about responding to you individually and personally. We understand the email you submitted is important to you, and we assure you, it is also important to us. We are aware some emails were submitted over 30 days ago and greatly appreciate your patience. As you may know, 'The New Fisker' is just over 45 days old, computer systems are coming back on line, people are being hired and hired back, and we are now emerging from the remnants of the old company.
The good news is; we are very well funded and have a great plan to create a world class automotive company. However, we are bound by the rules of the Bankruptcy Court and limited in what we can do relative to the old company and any unsecured claims. Please also note; in purchasing the assets from the estate for a significant cash figure, the estate is responsible for settling all past due claims to the best of its ability.
Once again, we appreciate your patience while we have been working on a response specific to your submission, and look forward to providing you with additional detailed information. Although not every response will be favorable, each will be honest and delivered with integrity.
Thank you,
The New Fisker team.?News Source: Bloomberg, The New FiskerImage Credit: Lucas Schifres / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesGreenFiskerChinaElectricHybridbankruptcydelawareelectric vehiclefiskerfisker karmalu guanqiunew fiskerplug-in hybridvalmetwanxiangwilmingtonFisker Information
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