(October 27, 2009) Fisker Automotive announced today that it is purchasing a closed former General Motors factory to produce a new plug-in hybrid sedan. Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Automotive, Jack Markell, Governor of Delaware and Vice President Joseph Biden were on hand in Wilmington, Delaware to make the announcement.

Fisker was recently approved for $528 million in low cost loans through the US Department of Energy Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Incentive Program (ATVM). The loan approval allowed Fisker to pull ahead its second vehicle program, code-named Project Nina.

The first product from Fisker is an $87,000 sports sedan called the Karma. The Karma is being assembled in Finland by Valmet Automotive. The new car is expected to have a starting price of just under $40,000 after federal tax incentives for plug-in vehicles.

Prior to the ATVM loan approval Fisker planned to start development of the more affordable car in 2-3 years time after the Karma was established in the marketplace. Henrik Fisker announced that the loan allowed the company to start the engineering work on the new car immediately. As production is ramped up to 75,000-100,000 units annually, Fisker plans to employ 2,000 directly at the assembly plant with another 3,000 jobs at suppliers. Fisker also plans to export half of the plant's production outside of the United States.

Interestingly, the former General Motors plant will continue to be unionized by the UAW, something almost unheard of among startup factories. The plant was purchased from Motors Liquidation Co. (MLC) for $18 million. MLC is the former General Motors Corp that remains US bankruptcy court in order to dispose of the assets left behind when the new General Motors Company was created in July.