• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechKarma Automotive

Karma Automotive’s Rapid Growth Prompts Move to a New Home

By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 26, 2016, 4:58 PM ET
Karma Revero
Karma Revero (PRNewsFoto/Karma Automotive)Courtesy of PR NEWSWIRE

Karma Automotive, a rebooted version of the failed luxury electric car startup Fisker Automotive, is taking over more than 262,000 square feet of space once used by Kawasaki motorcycles and turning it into its own global headquarters.

The move to the massive facility in Irvine, Calif., which won’t begin until the fourth quarter of 2016, illustrates the company’s rapid growth since it was purchased in 2014 by Wanxiang Group.

Just three years ago, Fisker Automotive looked poised for the scrap heap. The company, which was founded by designer and entrepreneur Henrik Fisker in 2007, was out of money despite receiving $1.2 billion from public and private funds.

But Wanxiang Group, a Chinese conglomerate that makes automotive components, snapped up Fisker’s assets for $149.2 million in a bankruptcy auction in 2014. (Wanxiang is the same company that bought failed battery supplier A123 Systems.) Wanxiang moved the automaker’s production equipment from Finland to California and then rebooted the brand with a new name, car, and tech.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Karma Automotive is now preparing to sell the Revero, an electric hybrid that will be built in a 555,670-square-foot factory in Moreno Valley, Calif. Earlier this month, the company revealed a teaser photo and a few details of the Revero, a sporty sedan with a solar roof and an updated drivetrain, electrical controls, and infotainment system. The official launch of the vehicle, and when the public can begin reserving it, is Sept. 8. The company has been building the Revero since April and has not said when it will deliver the cars. The electric hybrid vehicles are currently undergoing testing.

Just 14 months ago, the company had about 240 people working at its headquarters in Costa Mesa, less than 60 miles from its factory. At the time, a spokeswoman said the company expected to create 150 full-time manufacturing jobs at the factory.

These Two Companies Are Teaming Up to Build Self-Driving Cars:

Today, Karma Automotive has more than 625 employees who work at its factory and offices. About 125 people work at the Moreno Valley factory. The remaining 500 employees work in engineering, supplier quality, sales, and marketing at its offices in California and Michigan. Its Detroit office employs about 20 people with plans to reach close to 100 people.

“We’re busting at the seams here,” Karma’s chief marketing officer Jim Taylor told Fortune. “People were literally sitting in the halls before we rented a second facility about a block away.” Now that space is filling up.

The company wants to move to this larger facility in Irvine to accommodate existing staff and future growth, said Taylor. Karma Automotive will have more than 700 employees by the end of 2016 and is on target to approach 800 in 2017.

Parent company Wanxiang appears to have even bigger plans for Karma—beyond the 3,000 or so luxury Reveros it plans to make. Wanxiang filed an application for an environmental review for a $375 million factory in Hangzhou, China that could make as many as 50,000 electric cars per year, according to a Bloomberg report in August. The application indicates that most of those cars could be a cheaper electric vehicle called the Atlantic.

About the Author
By Kirsten Korosec
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

These startups are racing to make AI safe for the Pentagon’s most closely guarded secrets
AIDefense
These startups are racing to make AI safe for the Pentagon’s most closely guarded secrets
By Erik GermanApril 11, 2026
10 hours ago
karp
Future of Workpalantir
Palantir CEO says AI ‘will destroy’ humanities jobs but there will be ‘more than enough jobs’ for people with vocational training
By Jacqueline MunisApril 11, 2026
11 hours ago
A Starbucks barista stands behind a cash register.
RetailFood and drink
Starbucks’ game plan to roll out AI chatbots at cafés could serve as a ‘litmus test’ for the industry, analyst says
By Sasha RogelbergApril 11, 2026
12 hours ago
The ‘Tuscan Mom’ aesthetic is taking over TikTok as Gen Z glamorize McMansions and reject millennial gray
Travel & LeisureGen Z
The ‘Tuscan Mom’ aesthetic is taking over TikTok as Gen Z glamorize McMansions and reject millennial gray
By Sydney LakeApril 11, 2026
12 hours ago
dalmation
AIHealth
Man’s best friend may soon live a little longer thanks to a new pill promising to extend your pup’s lifespan
By Catherina GioinoApril 11, 2026
13 hours ago
hunt
CommentaryMedia
OpenAI’s TBPN deal shows how talent, media, and influence are collapsing into one
By Jonathan HuntApril 11, 2026
13 hours ago

Most Popular

Scottie Scheffler joined Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in golf's $100M club—and donated his entire Ryder Cup stipend to charity
Success
Scottie Scheffler joined Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in golf's $100M club—and donated his entire Ryder Cup stipend to charity
By Fortune EditorsApril 10, 2026
1 day ago
The Navy confirmed an ‘abundant amount’ of Uncrustables when the Artemis II crew lands. Smucker’s just offered them a lifetime supply
Politics
The Navy confirmed an ‘abundant amount’ of Uncrustables when the Artemis II crew lands. Smucker’s just offered them a lifetime supply
By Fortune EditorsApril 10, 2026
1 day ago
The 'affordability economy' has created a housing market nobody predicted: Prices collapsing in the Sun Belt, soaring in the Rust Belt
Real Estate
The 'affordability economy' has created a housing market nobody predicted: Prices collapsing in the Sun Belt, soaring in the Rust Belt
By Fortune EditorsApril 11, 2026
14 hours ago
Warren Buffett says 'accumulating great amounts of money' doesn’t achieve greatness—He still lives in a $31,500 Nebraska home and clipped coupons
Success
Warren Buffett says 'accumulating great amounts of money' doesn’t achieve greatness—He still lives in a $31,500 Nebraska home and clipped coupons
By Fortune EditorsApril 11, 2026
11 hours ago
Schools across America are quietly admitting that screens in classrooms made students worse off and are reversing years of tech-first policies
Innovation
Schools across America are quietly admitting that screens in classrooms made students worse off and are reversing years of tech-first policies
By Fortune EditorsApril 10, 2026
2 days ago
Mark Cuban admits he made a mistake letting go of the Mavericks: 'I don't regret selling. I regret who I sold to'
Investing
Mark Cuban admits he made a mistake letting go of the Mavericks: 'I don't regret selling. I regret who I sold to'
By Fortune EditorsApril 9, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.