Fisker Automotive could create as many as 2,500 jobs in the next five years through the renovation and reopening of an idle GM plant in Delaware that will be used to manufacture plug-in hybrid cars.
The company announced Tuesday morning that the Delaware plant will be used to produce Fisker's "Nina" sedan beginning in 2012, as well as shift production of its Karma coupe, which is currently made in Finland, to Boxwood Road in 2012.
The Fisker "Nina" is expected to sell for about $40,000 after a $7,500 federal tax credit.
Fisker predicts its newest family-oriented sedan, known as "Project Nina," will create or support 2,000 factory jobs and more than 3,000 vendor and supplier jobs by 2014.
The company will be appealing to the regional work force of experienced auto workers who were displaced after the closure of the plant and Chrysler's Newark assembly plant last December.
The Delaware plant was selected for a number of reasons, including its size, production capacity and access to shipping ports, according to officials.
Renovations on the plant will begin as soon as Fisker closes in bankruptcy court in New York. The renovations should continue for about 18 months. Auto production is scheduled to begin in 2012.
Delaware officials offered Fisker a five-year, $12.5 million loan at zero interest to make improvements to the plant's structure. If the plant is able to employ 2,500 workers and Fisker spends at least $175 million renovating the facility after five years, the loan will become a grant.
The state has also offered the company a $9 million grant to offset utility costs at the plant, and New Castle County has offered to abate property taxes at the plant for five years.
Written by Nicole Palmby
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