Fisker Automotive, maker of the Karma plug-in hybrid luxury car, has changed its name to Karma Automotive. As part of this new change, Karma Automotive will also don a new logo.
Karma Automotive states that this name has always been a part of the brand. On their new website, it says that, “It’s a name that respects our past, while simultaneously reinventing our future.” It is also “relevant to both the old and new brands, while providing an aspirational message which embodies the company’s purpose.”
There’s also a hidden message hidden in the new emblem. According to Karma, the new logo has, “An imperfect ring, representing constant effort towards unattainable perfection, encircling the earth. With a spark of sun, the eternal symbol of endlessly renewable energy. Inner cut lines represent our three brand priorities.” Those priorities are to be beautiful, clean, and memorable.
Fisker Automotive was founded in 2007 by Henrik Fisker, a Danish-born auto stylist who is perhaps best known for his designs of the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB9, along with business partner with Bernhard Koehler. The company was an early rival of Tesla Motors Inc., but their fortunes went in opposite directions. A series of missteps and recalls led to disappointing sales for Fisker and eventually the company’s bankruptcy filing. Wanxiang acquired Fisker’s assets for $149.2 million in a U.S. bankruptcy auction in 2014. The company is now owned by the Wanxiang Group and will assemble its next generation of vehicles at a new 555,670-square-foot factory in Moreno Valley, California. The City of Moreno Valley says the plant “will pay as much as $26 an hour for positions in the factory’s body shop as well as some mechanical and quality-assurance positions.”
In February, Reuters reported that Wanxiang planned to relaunch the Fisker Karma hybrid in mid-2016. Karma Automotive’s new website says the automaker will unveil the first model “of a new generation of Made-in-California automobiles” next year.
James Taylor, Karma’s chief marketing officer and a former General Motors exeutive, said in a statement: “With new ownership, a new management team, and a new production site, all here in California, it was time to communicate change.”
Reuters, citing sources, said the company would rename the vehicle the Elux Karma. Wanxiang did not comment on the report.