Fisker to buy GM plant for hybrid production

Californian firm Fisker Automotive is in talks to buy the General Motors plant in Wilmington, Delaware, in order to produce a plug-in electric hybrid that will hit the US market in 2012.  The plant in question is GMÔÇÖs 3.2 million square foot Boxwood Road plant, the last automotive plant in the state, which has been idled since July this year.  Most recently, the factory, which opened in 1947, produced the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice models.  FiskerÔÇÖs CEO Henrik Fisker announced this week that the company had identified a US site from which to build a $48,000 hybrid vehicle geared to the family market.  Fisker said the plant would employ at least 1,500 workers and produce up to 100,000 cars per year.  The family car would be Irvine, California-based FiskerÔÇÖs second planned hybrid. The Karma, an $89,000 luxury sports car, is currently being assembled in Finland by Valmet Automotive, and will go on sale to US customers in the summer of 2010.  ┬áFisker has already pre-sold around 1,500 Karma vehicles. A hardtop convertible version is reportedly planned for sale in 2011.  The company has said it hopes to eventually build the Karma, which can run for 50 miles before needing to use gas, in the US.┬á  The family hybrid model is currently being developed under the name Project Nina.  Fisker, founded in 2007, was awarded a $528 million loan from the Department of Energy last month to develop both the vehicles.  The loan forms part of a $25 billion federal initiative intended to boost the economy and encourage manufacturers to develop alternative vehicles.    Fisker said it would use most of the moneyÔÇöaround $360 millionÔÇöto develop the more affordable family car.┬á  It will also use around $169.3 million of the money to work with US suppliers on completing the engineering work on the Karma model at facilities in both Irvine and Pontiac, Michigan. Fisker has said a lower-cost, high-volume plug-in could follow the Project Nina model.┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *