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Can Lu Lift Fisker?

About 140 employees at Fisker Automotive and Technologies Group LLC are packed in a conference room to meet the man behind the automaker’s comeback bid.

Lu Guanqiu, standing in front of the crowd with his translator in tow, is brimming with enthusiasm as he lays out his vision to lift the Fisker brand from the ashes.

“You’re all part of the family, this is special,” Lu says in his first visit to Fisker’s Costa Mesa headquarters since acquiring the company out of bankruptcy about a year ago for $149.2 million. “I’m so happy to see you guys here. We have an opportunity to work together to make the best vehicle in the world.”

The founder and chairman of Hangzhou-based Wanxiang Group Corp., one of China’s largest auto parts makers, appears ready to tap into a personal fortune that’s among the biggest in his native country to put Fisker back on the auto industry map.

“I will invest in Fisker,” he says to rousing cheers. “I will put resources into Fisker.”

The declaration is welcomed news for the automaker’s new cadre of executives, engineers and marketers tasked with resurrecting the brand’s luxury hybrid Karma, which has sold some 2,000 units at about $100,000 each before production halted in late 2012.

Lu brings his deep pockets and a portfolio of independent businesses to the table, including Fisker’s former lithium ion battery maker A123 Systems Inc., which he acquired two years ago in bankruptcy court for about $256.6 million.

$5.4 Billion

Forbes pegs Lu’s net worth at $5.4 billion, good enough for No. 16 on its annual list of China’s wealthiest.

The self-made billionaire got his start repairing bicycles as a teenager and making farming tools from scrapped metals during China’s Cultural Revolution in the mid-1960s.

He built an empire over the decades at Wanxiang (pronounced Wahn-shung) with units specializing in automotive components, agriculture and fisheries, food and beverage, real estate development, and natural resources, among others.

The various businesses generate more than $20 billion in annual sales and employ 40,000 people.

Cash was a major problem for the old Fisker, which burned through more than $1 billion in venture capital funding and government loans, becoming a punching bag for politicos, auto critics, and the press as it spiraled into bankruptcy.

Most of the employees in the room weren’t there for the company’s roller coaster ride that began in 2009 under founders Henrik Fisker and Bernhard Koehler, who remains a key executive.

Fisker resigned in March 2013, and the company he cofounded will likely ditch his name and begin to operate under a new brand soon.

Immediate Agenda

New owner Lu singled out some reasons for making the recent trip: He wanted an update on developments as the company moves closer to selecting the location of a U.S. manufacturing plant and to encourage and inspire the team.

“The goal is to relaunch the Fisker Karma as soon as possible,” he told the Business Journal in a sit-down interview before addressing employees. “This is my purpose of visiting.”

Lu said he has tried to develop an electric vehicle at Wanxiang for 15 years without success, and he couldn’t pass up the opportunity for another chance to get it right, particularly with rising consumer demand in China for what he coins as the “new energy vehicle,” a mix of cars that run on hybrid, electric and fuel cell technology.

“The electric vehicle will improve climate change, reduce pollution in the environment, and also save energy,” he said.

China is the world’s largest car market, with about 23 million vehicles sold there last year. Sales rose about 6.7% of 2013, nearly half the growth rate from the previous year as the economy has slowed from its rampant pace of double-digit growth enjoyed in the last decade, according to government reports.

China’s economy has slowed recently, “but it’s still the highest growth in the world,” Lu said.

Its gross domestic product grew 7.3% in the December quarter and 7.4% in 2014, the slowest rate in 24 years.

The entrepreneur, who has been compared to Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, is positioning Fisker for the long haul.

Grandson

Lu brought along his teenage grandson, who accompanied him to Fisker’s headquarters and lives in the Los Angeles area, to bring home the point.

“If I cannot accomplish the goal to make electric vehicles, my second generation and my third generation will finish,” he said. “We think Fisker’s performance is better than they have done in the past.”

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