Add real estate needs to the list of mysteries surrounding the second iteration of Fisker Automotive Inc.
The maker of luxury hybrid sports cars, more than a year removed from a well-publicized stint in bankruptcy, is ramping up plans to expand its local presence, with a return to its former headquarters in Anaheim in the works, according to real estate sources.
The sources said the company also is looking into the possibility of leasing a large industrial facility in the Inland Empire—presumably for manufacturing—for its rebooted operations.
The real estate moves come in a month heavy on buzz but few details about the automotive company, which now operates under the Fisker Automotive and Technologies Group LLC name and is based in Costa Mesa.
The company, maker of the Karma luxury sedan, has for several weeks been teasing on its website news of a major initiative, saying an unveiling was planned for April.
The month, however, came and went without the anticipated announcement.
Auto industry watchers had been bracing for major news, possibly including a new company name and a revamped version of the Karma, whose first model cost about $100,000.
Elux Automotive is reportedly the front-runner for a new company name, according to several trade publications.
Among other reasons for the name, company insiders say the “lu” in Elux is a play on Wanxiang Group chairman Lu Guanqiu, whose China-based auto-parts conglomerate purchased Fisker last year for $149.2 million.
Wanxiang also paid $256.6 million in 2013 for the assets of A123 Systems, the Massachusetts-based company that supplied batteries to the carmaker.
Waiting Game
The company had yet to release new details on its website—thenewfisker.com—by the time the Business Journal went to press on May 1.
The site, when updated, “will be dedicated to existing Fisker Karma owners for now,” J. Joost de Vries, Fisker’s vice president of customer experience, told the Business Journal in an email.
Despite the expectation of a name change, Fisker doesn’t appear to be running away from its history in terms of local operations.
The company was close to finalizing a deal to lease space at its old headquarters on La Palma Boulevard in Anaheim as of last week, according to real estate sources familiar with the transaction.
The two-story building, at 5515 E. La Palma Ave., is near the Riverside (91) Freeway and Imperial (90) Highway.
Fisker previously occupied the entire 157,000-square-foot building, vacating the office after the company went bankrupt in 2013. It’s expected to occupy only about half the property this time.
MorphoTrak, an Alexandra, Va.-based maker of biometric technologies with existing operations in Anaheim, recently signed a lease at the building for the remaining 86,000 square feet.
The unit of Paris-based aerospace, security and defense company Safran is scheduled to move into the building in July, according to brokerage data.
Fisker currently operates out of a building on Airway Avenue in Costa Mesa; it’s unknown whether the company plans to keep that location as part of the return to Anaheim.
The company has hired more than 140 people for its local operations under its new ownership, primarily engineers. Fisker officials previously told the Business Journal the company plans to hire an additional 100 engineers, technicians and other staff in preparation for the Karma relaunch.
Inland Empire Search
Where the Karma will be produced is another source of speculation.
Wanxiang owns a 3.2-million-square-foot assembly plant in Delaware that it acquired in the Fisker sale and that could once again house production.
Texas and Tennessee have also been mentioned in news reports as possible sites for a Fisker assembly plant, with California long considered an underdog in the running.
However, real estate sources tell the Business Journal that Fisker has been actively searching for large industrial sites in the Inland Empire in recent weeks and could finalize a deal within about a month if it finds the right location.
A specific location in the area, which includes Riverside and San Bernardino counties, hadn’t been disclosed.
Fisker is looking for about 500,000 square feet, multiple sources said.
A tightening Southern California industrial market, particularly for larger facilities, could be a challenge for the company in finding an adequate location in a short time period, real estate sources familiar with Fisker’s search said.
