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Fisker Karma Enters Production

It's been a long way from when Fisker presented for the first time the Karma plug-in hybrid and the moment when its manufacturing partner, Valmet Automotive, kicked off the production of the model which is poised to become, at least for the moment, the most exciting PHEV on the market.

The Fisker sale and business plan is as simple as it is similar to the development plan for the Karma: slow, sure and safe. According to Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher, the company he represent doesn't plan to break any sale record this year: it aims at 7,000 units, to be sold starting next month.

"We're going to be ramping up very slowly, very carefully to ensure quality," Ormisher was quoted as saying by Autonews. "This year we want to get over 7,000 deliveries."

The PHEV is equipped with a set of electric motors and a 204 hp 2.0l turbocharged Ecotec engine, a combination which the manufacturer likes to call Q-Drive. It offers 408 hp of power and a torque of over 1,300 Nm, with the electric range estimated at 50 miles (80 km) and the total one at 300 miles (480 km).

As the Finland production facility is beginning to produce Karmas, a new version of the model is said to be in the final stages of development for the presentation this fall, during the Frankfurt Auto Show.

The expansion of the Karma line is part of the plan Fisker has to double the number of units it plans to sell this year by the end of 2012. One year after that, a new model in the Karma line will be launched, with the total number of Fisker nameplates on the roads to reach six by 2016.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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