As expected, Fisker Automotive announced today that it plans to buy GM's Wilmington, Delaware plant for the purpose of constructing a new, mid-priced plug-in electric car. Fisker says it will pay a mere $18 million for the shuttered plant and then spend an additional $175M to get it ready to build Fisker's next car.
A Fisker spokesman also told Green Car Advisor that it plans to use union labor. "We are looking to establish a mutually beneficial partnership with the UAW."
This all sounds great on the surface, but they are plenty of reasons to remain skeptical. Fisker has yet to deliver a single working version of its first car, so its viability as a manufacturer has yet to be determined.
And then there's the issue of cost. Fisker says its next vehicle will be a "mid-priced" vehicle, think closer to $50K, but union labor in a plant in Deleware won't be cheap. Fisker is going to have to reduce its costs substantially to make it all work, so there's still plenty of difficult decisions still to be made.
Green Car Advisor: Fisker Plug-In Plant Will Be Union, UAW "Essential" Says Company
estreka says:
01:06 PM, 10/27/09
I share your skepticism.
cwc1 says:
02:35 PM, 10/27/09
Now they'll get to see how it is to deal with the ever demanding UAW thug bosses, when they'll see why it hasn't been so easy for Detroit automakers either.
firstwagon says:
07:21 PM, 10/27/09
Their claims for the car sound very unlikely.
The claims for the cost of the plant sound at best optomistic.
Signing a deal with a union sounds strange.
Somehow a little voice in the back of my head is saying they are accumulating lots of money from investors, governments and unions with little chance of a finished product in the end.
Bet all the money goes somewhere though.
efinils2 says:
06:18 AM, 10/28/09
Pity, the UAW will sink Fisker...
hondacura4 says:
03:50 PM, 10/28/09
The UAW has proven that it's out for itself not for the people.