Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Fisker Automotive Entertains Bids From Chinese Automakers

Has troubled, Anaheim-based automaker Fisker Automotive found a buyer yet? News over the weekend from Bloomberg said that Chinese car company Dongfeng Motor Group has offered $350M for an 85 percent in Fisker, and that Chinese auto firm Geely also has put in a bid for the company. Fisker--which said in January that it hoped to find a buyer for the company by the end of this month--apparently has stopped buildling cars, after its battery supplier, A123 Systems, went bankrupt and was just bought by Chinese company Wanxiang Group. Fisker has been backed by such top tier venture capital investors as Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and New Enterprise Associates.

The electric automobile sector, particularly in Southern California, has not seen a whole lot of success, despite hundreds of millions invested in the sector. Notable failures include V-Vehicle (Next Autoworks) and Aptera Motors; and Southern California's other, big electric auto firm, Coda Automotive, appears to be facing its own financial issues.

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