Fisker loses over 300 Karmas in Sandy floods at Port Newark
Monday 12th November, 2012
Remember the 16 Fisker Karma plug-in hybrids that were burnt in the wake of Superstorm Sandy? They're not the only bad news for the luxury green automaker: more than 300 Karmas, worth over $30 million, were sitting at Port Newark when it flooded and got destroyed.
In all, over 10,000 vehicles were damaged at the port when the waters rose. In other words: fire bad, water really bad.
Reuters is reporting that the Karma shipment was insured and Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher said the company expects "no impact from a business or a financial point of view." He also said that Fisker will be able to meet US demand despite losing the 300 vehicles.
As for the fire – which started in one car and then spread to nearby vehicles – Fisker has issued a statement saying that it was a problem with a low‑voltage Vehicle Control Unit, "a standard component found in many types of vehicles and is powered by a typical 12V car battery," in a Karma. Because the cars were "submerged under five to eight feet of seawater for several hours," salt in the water corroded the VCU, Fisker said. The Karma's advanced lithium-ion batteries did not play a role in causing the fire.
