Latest news with #Kaveya
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Karma Automotive solidifies lineup with focus on energy range-extended powertrains
IRVINE, Calif. — In November 2023, Karma Automotive introduced the Kaveya coupe, a sleek electric vehicle pitched as the brand's halo model, launching an ambitious quest to go upmarket as an ultraluxury brand along with plans for a reimagined product portfolio. In the 16 months since, the Southern California company, which dates to 2014 when Chinese auto parts maker Wanxiang Group acquired some of the assets of bankrupt Fisker Automotive, has built out its future product lineup with three new nameplates, while shifting its focus from EVs to energy range-extended powertrains. And while the electric Kaveya remains in Karma's plans — the automaker said it'll launch in 2027 instead of 2026 — the brand is ready to execute, said Marques McCammon, the company's president. Want to keep up with the latest product planning news? Go to Automotive News' regularly updated database of product plans for brands that sell in the United States. Future Product Pipeline >5-year product timelines by brand > 'Everything right now is about what we do and what we deliver,' McCammon told a crowd inside the company's headquarters here on March 20. Karma, which McCammon likened to a grown-up startup during the presentation, took a pivotal step in late 2024 when it resumed output of the updated Revero sedan, an extended-range vehicle, at the automaker's Moreno Valley, Calif. Karma is now shipping about four Reveros a week out of the plant, McCammon told journalists, and should sell around 250 new vehicles in 2025. Pricing for the Revero sedan starts at $125,600 including shipping. Production of the Invictus, based on the Revero, is set to begin in the second quarter. The performance variant features carbon-fiber body panels, chassis upgrades and aluminum wheels. Pricing starts at $187,500 including shipping. The Gyesera sedan, first pitched as an EV, will now arrive as an extended-range vehicle, in the fourth quarter. It will be the Revero's successor. Karma said the change was in response to near-term market demand for EVs, which has softened. The Amaris coupe, which debuted March 20, will arrive in 2026. The Karma lineup will be rounded out by the Ivara crossover in 2028. Both the Amaris and the Ivara will have energy range-extended powertrains. The Ivara, which would be the automaker's first entry in the high-volume crossover segment, is critical to Karma's financial outlook. 'Our profitability is tied to Ivara, so 2028, 2029 is when we expect the business to be profitable,' McCammon said He said Karma's ownership remains committed to the brand and noted he meets with the board quarterly. McCammon said he's made it clear to the board that Karma will attract new capital and financial support from U.S. investors but declined to specify beyond equity markets. Sign up for the Automotive News Cars & Concepts newsletter, a weekly roundup of new and future product, design and auto show news. The Revero, with roots dating to the 2011 Fisker Karma, features a 28-kilowatt-hour battery pack along with a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine mated to an onboard generator for a total of 536 hp and 550 pound-feet of torque. It has an electric-only range of 80 miles and a total range of 360 miles. While details about the Amaris' powertrain and range have not been released, Karma said the coupe will use a turbocharged, four-cylinder engine as a generator. Ed Kim, chief analyst at automotive research firm AutoPacific, said Karma has an opportunity to use its energy range-extended powertrain knowledge to gain an advantage. The powertrain was ignored for a long time, Kim said, but that's changing with high-profile use cases such as the Ram 1500 Ramcharger and Scout Motors' Harvester extended-range EV energy system. 'All of a sudden, it's super relevant and they [Karma] happen to have it,' Kim said of the energy range-extended setup. 'That is their powertrain.' But how well-heeled consumers will respond to Karma remains to be seen. And Karma's product rollout is taking place just as a trade war unfolds and threatens to drive new-vehicle prices higher. Karma could see some impact despite its vehicles being built in the U.S. Analysts believe some exotic brands will be able to absorb the impact of U.S. auto tariffs because their customers often aren't deterred by higher prices. McCammon said if Karma were to raise prices to mitigate the impact of any tariffs, customers would generally be less sensitive to such changes but acknowledged the brand doesn't enjoy the legacy or history of some competitors, which means Karma models need to be a relative value proposition. McCammon is positioning Karma to be an ultraluxury U.S. brand and said it's an opportunity to return to a time 'where American ingenuity reigned atop the most prominent brands in the world,' pointing to Packard, Duesenberg, Cord and Auburn. Karma customers, who McCammon said are typically entrepreneurs or business owners, are familiar with established ultraluxury and luxury brands. A Karma might be a third, fourth or fifth vehicle in someone's fleet, he noted, with many of those customers also owning a Mercedes-Benz, Bentley or Aston Martin. Karma has 36 dealerships globally, including in the U.S., Canada, Europe and the Middle East. The company's sales goal for 2025 — about 250 — is modest, but McCammon told Automotive News that the brand still intends to eventually reach annual deliveries of around 5,000. 'At that point, we're solid and profitable and we're able to innovate the way that we want,' McCammon said. 'For us to get to that stability is about half of that. We don't need to do a lot. We just need to do what we do well.' Have an opinion about this story? Tell us about it and we may publish it in print. Click here to submit a letter to the editor.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Karma Automotive Returns with the Sultry Amaris Plug-in-Hybrid Coupe
has unveiled its latest project, the Amaris coupe, which it aims to start building in the fourth quarter of 2026. The Amaris shares its bones with the Gyesera and Revero sedans, as well as the design cues adorning its shapely body. The plug-in-hybrid setup now utilizes a turbocharged four-cylinder instead of the current system's turbo three-cylinder. It's easy to forget about Karma Automotive, the small California-based and Chinese-owned company that emerged from the bankruptcy of Fisker Automotive. Karma appears to only build a few hundred cars each year, but the vehicles it does assemble are among the most voluptuous, luscious luxury cars out there. Now, Karma is back with another stunner, the Amaris, a slinky coupe featuring a range-extender plug-in-hybrid powertrain. The shapely two-door body features many of the same design cues seen on Karma's existing model, the Revero (née GS-6) as well as the electric Gyesera sedan shown in March of last year. In fact, the Amaris and Gyesera are based around an all-aluminum spaceframe that evolved from the Revero's architecture, itself a transformation of the original Fisker Karma. Regardless of how new the Amaris's underpinnings are, the coupe is a breathtaking machine, with a swept-back cabin and smooth surfaces punctuated by sharp slashes on the bumpers and the leading edge of the doors. Karma says those doors swing upwards to allow access to the cabin but hasn't shown the interior yet. The Amaris rides on 22-inch forged aluminum wheels with a dazzling design that Karma dubs "Constellation" and the body is fashioned from a mix of carbon fiber and aluminum. Another neat detail are side-exit exhausts, which poke out just behind the doors. Under the hood, the Amaris features a range-extender setup that is said to be a "more powerful, next-generation" version of the system found in its current offerings. Karma didn't provide a ton of details about the powertrain but said that the gas-powered generator is now a larger, turbocharged inline-four engine from BMW. The current range-extender PHEV setup features a turbocharged 1.5-liter three-cylinder from BMW, which feeds a battery powering a pair of electric motors making 536 hp and 550 pound-feet of torque. No power figures were provided but Karma estimates that the Amaris can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds with a top speed of 165 mph. That's seven-tenths quicker than Karma's estimate for the 590-hp electric Gyesera and a full second ahead of the claimed time for the Revero sedan. Karma also didn't give an estimated range for the plug-in-hybrid coupe. Karma says the design of the Amaris draws inspiration from the Kaveya coupe that the automaker showed in 2023, but the Amaris will actually arrive first. As part of the coupe's reveal, Karma clarified its future plans. The sleek Kaveya, originally due this year, has now been delayed to 2027. The Gyesera, unveiled in early 2024, was originally set to launch by the end of last year with a fully electric powertrain but now will launch by the end of 2025 with a range-extender setup and reworked styling. Karma also confirmed that the Gyesera will succeed the Revero, and it seems the electric version has been put on ice. Karma cites "changes in the near-term market demand for EVs" for the shift in its plans. Karma says production of the Amaris is expected to kick off in the fourth quarter of 2026. You Might Also Like Car and Driver's 10 Best Cars through the Decades How to Buy or Lease a New Car Lightning Lap Legends: Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang!
