Background: This is what Karma is planning in Europe

Karma seems to have as many lives as the proverbial cat.

"No matter where we go - the first question we get asked is, haven't we gone bankrupt?"

This is how Marques McCammon jokingly talks about his brand, where he was recently appointed CEO. The fact that the models are only now or once again set to drive on European roads sounds somewhere between resignation and irony. The original vehicle - known under the model name Karma - was launched in 2011 by Fisker. But the venture flopped, and after just 2,000 units, the production of the Fisker Karma was finally halted. The brand, dreamed up by the former Danish car designer Henrik Fisker, went bankrupt after several technical issues. "Fisker is a brilliant car designer, but probably less suited for the role of CEO," ponders McCammon, who joined Karma Automotive about a year and a half ago to implement a new global strategy.

Asia's Patience: Wanxiang joined in 2014 - and has kept Karma alive to this day

The remnants of Fisker, that is the intellectual property and the design of the Fisker Karma, as well as part of the plug-in hybrid motor technology and the small factory in Delaware, were acquired at auction from bankrupt companies in 2014 by the Chinese megagroup Wanxiang. From that moment on, the idea existed to design a new luxury brand, which according to the current CEO of the brand does not exist in the USA:

"We look at the automotive industry worldwide and see that all luxury super sports car brands come from Europe: from Germany, Italy, England, and even France, and that there is no such thing in the United States - Lucid and Tesla, forgive me - which means that any American who owns a European car at the top level of the sports car market is immediately recognized as a successful person. We want Karma to be that North American brand in the future."

There seems to be no lack of ambition in the Chinese Wanxiang group, founded by Lu Guanqiu, a formerly modest tractor mechanic from Zhejiang province. The - so the legend goes - brought it in four decades with the equivalent of $600 in his pocket to one of the largest automotive suppliers in the world; a global enterprise with annual sales of $25 billion, more than 40 active factories worldwide, dealership operations in 26 US states (including 22 Karma dealerships), and more than 13,500 employees. McCammon proudly explains:

"The size and vision of our founder, who passed away in 2017, can also be seen in very concrete data: Components from our group are used in every second car in the United States, and Guanqiu was the first Chinese businessman to be inducted into the US Automotive Hall of Fame, where he obtained a place alongside men who made the automobile what it is today, such as Henry Ford, Karl Benz, or Ferdinand Porsche."

McCammon has brought in professionals from large-scale manufacturers

In 2016, under Karma Automotive, the Revero Gen I was already launched, followed by Gen 2 with relevant improvements in 2020. But when the new CEO was brought in, along with a new team of executives, the new board decided to stop production for the time being and bring the project "back to the drawing board" to revise some components and improve overall quality while restructuring the company. McCammon explains to us:

"I have brought in people with immense experience in this market segment, such as the project manager of the Ford GT or the former chief designer of Acura."

He took advantage of the fact that he has been in this industry for three decades and worked at companies such as Chrysler, Saleen, and startups like Intel and Ricardo Engineering. He adds:

"Everything is now prepared, Revero production will be resumed, and the plan to come to Europe - originally planned for 2020, but canceled due to the Covid pandemic - can be implemented."

For a North American brand, such a noticeable connection to China could be seen as a strong threat in the country, but the Karma CEO believes this is being misjudged:

"We have significantly reduced the share of Chinese parts in the Revero, and this trend will intensify in future models. On the other hand, almost all global car manufacturers procure parts, and many have Chinese capital in their shareholder structure."

In distribution, they are working with Kroymans

Karma is working with established retail partners in Europe. The distribution specialists Kroymans from the Netherlands act as pivots. Rogier Kroymans, son of the company's founder and general manager of Karma Europe:

"Starting from the fourth quarter of this year, the Revero will be presented at European dealers, namely in the Netherlands, Spain, France, Iceland, and Latvia, where we have already established partnerships, while in other countries, such as Germany, talks are currently underway. The idea is to create a functional distribution model so that when the next vehicles, currently in the pipeline, are launched, the machine is well 'oiled'.