Fisker Says Investor DiCaprio to Promote Plug-In Karma
Fisker Automotive Inc., a maker of luxury plug-in hybrid cars, said Leonardo DiCaprio is an equity investor in the company and that the actor will promote its Karma sedan as an environmentally friendly vehicle.
DiCaprio has participated in fundraising for the closely held, Anaheim, California-based carmaker, Roger Ormisher, a Fisker spokesman, said yesterday. He declined to say how much the actor invested. Shawn Sachs, DiCaprio’s publicist, wasn’t immediately available to comment on his involvement with Fisker.
“As an equity investor in Fisker Automotive, DiCaprio will participate in conversations on the auto manufacturer’s future plans for the advancement of sustainable, responsible vehicles,” the company said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. He’ll “work closely with Fisker on marketing and promotional initiatives aimed at bringing attention to sustainability and environmental awareness,” Fisker said.
The company, which has raised more than $1 billion in private funds for its plug-in cars, is working to steady its business after a delayed sales start, battery-pack malfunctions and losing access to a portion of $529 million in low-cost federal loans awarded to make cars in Delaware. The company, co- founded by designer Henrik Fisker, named Tom LaSorda, a former chief executive officer of the predecessor of Chrysler Group LLC, its CEO in February.
Fisker has delivered more than 1,000 Karmas, priced from $103,000, in the U.S. and Europe since December. The Karma is able to travel as far as 50 miles (80 kilometers) on lithium-ion batteries before a gasoline engine is activated.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alan Ohnsman in Los Angeles at aohnsman@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jamie Butters at jbutters@bloomberg.net
Fisker Karma
Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg
The front of a Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybrid. The only exterior misfire is the ridiculous grill, which is shaped like a French waiter’s pencil mustache.
The front of a Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybrid. The only exterior misfire is the ridiculous grill, which is shaped like a French waiter’s pencil mustache. Photographer: Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg
March 22 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg auto columnist Jason Harper reviews Fisker Automotive Inc.'s Karma luxury sports sedan. The hybrid vehicle can run in all-electric mode or in tandem with a small gasoline engine and has a price tag that starts at $103,000. (Harper writes about autos for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own. Source: Bloomberg)
Leonardo DiCaprio in "Inception." Photographer: Stephen Vaughan/Warner Bros. via Bloomberg
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