Fisker To Open California Plant, No Date Yet For Electric Car Production To Resume

2012 Fisker Karma + Aero L-39 Albatros jet trainer, Hollister Municipal Airport, CA [by Refael Azi]

Fisker chose California in part because of the state's enthusiasm for electric cars, chief marketing officer James Taylor said in a statement.

California offers aggressive incentives for purchase of electric cars, and its zero-emission vehicle mandate requires manufacturers to sell cars that produce no tailpipe carbon emissions.

It also hosts the headquarters and main factory for another relatively new maker of plug-in cars: Tesla Motors.

Taylor said that proximity to Fisker's engineering and design departments will have benefits as well.

With the announcement of California production, the fate of Fisker's Delaware plant remains up in the air.

Wanxiang's previous promise to use the factory gave it the political leverage to force the remains of bankrupt Fisker into public auction, even after another bid had already been accepted.

2009 Fisker Karma prototype

Under pressure from Delaware's Congressional delegation, U.S. Bankruptcy Court sent Fisker to public auction in 2014.

Both Wanxiang and the original bidder--Hong Kong-based Hybrid Technology Holdings--discussed Delaware production as a way to curry favor with the bankruptcy judge.

[UPDATE: Fisker communications manager Judy Hoste responded to a Green Car Reports inquiry about the factory as follows: "Regarding the plant in Delaware, we will continue to work with the City and State of Delaware for many possible further uses of the facility."]

Last month, Wanxiang launched a new website and sent a letter to Fisker owners offering free repairs and parts.

MORE: Fisker Karma Will Be Relaunched With 2012 Design, Updates (Sep 2014)

It had previously said there were about 250 "bugs" to be fixed before Karma production could restart.

And there's still no indication of when that will take place.

The demands of setting up a brand-new assembly plant, however, mean the Karma relaunch could still be a year or more away.