Fisker Automotive Inc. gave its executive suite another shake last week, tapping a new chief executive and two more industry veterans to oversee manufacturing in advance of the company’s plans for a second model and an expansion in Asia.
The Anaheim-based company last week named Tony Posawatz, who led the development and production of the Chevrolet Volt, as chief executive.
He replaces Tom LaSorda, a former Chrysler chief executive who took the helm at Fisker in February. Lasorda will stay on an advisory role but will not carry an executive title.
Posawatz retired from General Motors’ Chevrolet unit in July after more than three decades with the company, where he also oversaw the Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Avalanche, among others models.
He also is a former co-chairman the Electric Drive Transportation Association, a Washington, D.C.-based industry group that promotes battery, hybrid, plug-in, and fuel cell electric drive technology and infrastructure.
“My focus will be to get to the inside of the company and shape the direction,” Posawatz said.
Hires
The other Fisker hires include:
• Joe Chao, who was tapped to lead an expansion in China and throughout Asia that the company hopes to pursue later this year. Chao has more than 30 years of engineering, manufacturing and international business experience with GM, Chrysler and Daimler Chrysler, where he served as chief executive of Beijing Benz Ltd.
• Alberto Gonzalez, who’s been named vice president of manufacturing. Gonzalez brings more than 30 years of global automotive manufacturing and assembly experience from Chrysler, where he operated high-volume assembly plants in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
The latest hires shore up the company’s executive ranks, which have been in flux for the last year as Fisker faced challenges on a variety of fronts, from production deadlines to federal loan freezes and political imbroglios.
Key Changes
The company also saw two key executive changes in recent months:
• Company cofounder Barny Koehler gave up his title as chief operating officer in July, shifting to the role of chief business development officer to oversee strategic planning, manufacturing partnerships and new business opportunities.
Fisker also hired Jim Yost, who previously served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Maumee, Ohio-based driveline product supplier Dana Holding Corp., as chief financial officer. Yost replaced Joe DaMour, who had joined the company a few months earlier.
DaMour now consults on special projects, according to the company.
Cofounder and Executive Chairman Henrik Fisker said the latest management changeover settles leadership of the company as it aims to bring to market a second model, dubbed the Atlantic, which is expected to cost about $50,000, approximately half the price of its flagship Karma luxury sedan.
“The team is now in place,” he said “We have been continuously strengthening our management team. The priority is to bring the Atlantic to market.”
Leaked Report
The automaker has shied away from talking about the Atlantic since May, when an internal report leaked to the media said production would be pushed back to 2014 and delivery to customers delayed to 2015. The company had earlier said it planned to begin producing the Atlantic this year, with sales expected to start sometime in 2013.
The hybrid four-cylinder features four seats, with a longer wheelbase and more trunk space than the Karma, which carries a base price of about $103,000. The Atlantic is widely seen as a make-or-break model for Fisker and a bellwether for the electric-car industry.
The leaked company report indicated that the Atlantic will compete against the BMW 3 and 5 series, Mercedes C and E class, Jaguar XF and Audi S4/A6.
Fisker officials declined to discuss production timetables and other deadlines related to the Atlantic, or whether it would be manufactured in the U.S. at a former GM plant in Wilmington, Del. it acquired for $18 million in 2010.
The executive moves continue an up-and-down road for Fisker. The Karma has received industry plaudits and design awards, but the company has been scrutinized by some politicians who have objected to government subsidies to the clean technology sector. Some critics singled out Fisker after it missed sales and production goals tied to its $529 million loan from the U.S. Energy Department.
Fisker has received $193 million of the $529 million loan from the federal agency, according to the company, with the remaining $336 million now subject to renegotiation.
A battery defect that was discovered earlier this year is expected to eventually affect most Karma owners and future buyers.
The “latent manufacturing defect” that caused the troubles was traced to a Livonia, Mich., plant run by A123 Systems Inc., Fisker’s lithium-ion battery pack supplier. Fisker said it will replace batteries as needed.
A123 last week agreed to be acquired by Wanxiang Group Corp., one of China’s largest auto parts makers and non-owned government companies, which said it would invest $450 million in the battery maker.
