A new report finds that China’s Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC) is seriously considering buying Fisker. Largely funded by taxpayer dollars, Fisker hasn’t built a car in over a year and it laid off most of its work force last spring.
The potential takeover is seen as a win-win situation by analysts in the United States and abroad. On one hand, it would give BAIC quick and easy access to the plug-in hybrid technology that it desperately needs in order to comply with strict fleet-wide emission regulations in its home country. On the other hand, it would enable Fisker to avoid filing for bankruptcy and seeing its assets liquidated.
China Daily explains that BAIC has its eyes on more than just building green cars. Zhang Xin, the BAIC’s deputy director, recently announced that firm hopes to launch a luxurious electric sedan that will fight in the same arena as the Tesla Model S in about 2015, and taking over Fisker will greatly help it achieve its goal.
BAIC is not the only company bidding for Fisker. Last May, founder Henrik Fisker and Hong Kong-based investor Richard Li offered the United States Department of Energy (DOE) between $25 and $30 million for the company. That is a small amount compared to the $171 million that Fisker owes the DOE, but it is more than the $20 million offered by China’s Wanxiang and Bob Lutz’s VL Automotive.
The DOE has not officially commented on the matter so when it will decide who takes home Fisker is not known.