Fisker Atlantic reveal brings production pledge, but throws everything else up for grabs

At tonight's unveiling of the Fisker Atlantic, a smaller sequel to the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sedan, the men who run Fisker pledged the car would go into production in the near future and that the company would have enough cash to survive. Everything else — from where the Atlantic will be built and its battery supplier to whether Fisker could partner with a larger automaker — has yet to be determined.

The presentation of the Atlantic was the first public event for Fisker's team since former Chrysler executive Tom LaSorda replaced founder and chief designer Henrik Fisker as chief executive. To the reporters gathered ahead of the New York Auto Show, Fisker, LaSorda and other executives stuck to their theme of plowing ahead, despite a myriad list of troubles from the Karma's launch and the failure to secure much of a $529 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy.

LaSorda said his goal was to run Fisker assuming no Energy loan money would ever arrive — and that Fisker was self-sustaining with Karma production, as sales have hit 700 copies and generated $50 million in revenue in February. But LaSorda also said the business plan for the smaller Atlantic sedan remained a work in progress, with Fisker willing to consider a different battery supplier than A123 Systems — whose battery defect led to an embarrassing Karma lockup at Consumer Reports — and perhaps moving production from a former General Motors plant in Wilmington, Del.

"We're looking at other options, but the primary location is Wilmington," LaSorda said.