Fisker Atlantic Plug-in Sedan Delayed Until At Least Late 2014Fisker Atlantic Plug-in Sedan Delayed Until At Least Late 2014

Less than three weeks ago, Fisker Automotive announced it has successfully closed its latest round of funding, netting a total of $100 million more in funds to develop its next plug-in hybrid car, the mid-size Atlantic Sedan. 
Hopes of driving one any time soon were dashed yesterday, however, when Fisker announced that it didn’t expect to be producing the car until late 2014, or even 2015. 
Originally, the firm had aimed to start production by the end of 2012 at a closed former GM plant in Wilmington, Delaware, but over the past few years the project has been pushed gradually back. 
Debuted at the New York Auto Show earlier this year, Fisker turned its attention making the Atlantic its second production car, after plans to produce the Fisker Surf and Sunset variants of its full-size Karma were shelved earlier this year.
Like rival luxury plug-in automaker Tesla and its 2012 Model S sedan, Fisker hopes that development of the Atlantic will give it a chassis and drivetrain platform on which it can build other models.
“The Atlantic is really the volume car that begins to build growth,” Fisker Chief Executive Tony Posawatz said on a conference call yesterday. 
“It creates a business model that is one where we can really generate cash in the future.”
Fisker Atlantic concept unveiling before New York Auto Show, April 2012
Since its launch, Fisker has raised $1.2 billion from private investors, but multiple recalls–not to mention the withdrawal of U.S. DoE Advanced Technology Manufacturing Program low interest loans after it failed to meet certain deadlines–have hampered both sales and company growth.
Although Fisker has yet to confirm where production for the Atlantic will take place, it has indicated that the firm hopes to repurpose at least part of its Delaware plant, sharing it with its suppliers. 
“This is the vehicle that we expect to be our mass-produced vehicle and as a result of that we wanted to make sure it was located in the United States” Fisker’s Chief Financial Officer Jim Yost told those listening in on the conference call. 
Talking of the Delaware facility, Yost added “we think that’s an opportunity for some of our suppliers to come in, co-locate with us and really provide a manufacturing hub for the next generation of products that we produce, not just the Atlantic itself, but future products.”
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