The latest reports from both the AlwaysOn Going Green conference in Sausalito, Calif. and from the Frankfurt Motor Show confirm that Fisker Automotive is targeting a sub $40,000 hybrid by 2012.
At the AlwaysOn Going Green conference Ray Lane of Kleiner Perkins investor, and former President of Oracle, hinted that one of their clients is developing a new type of hybrid car.
And the hybrid vehicle is expected to have one major difference from the typical plug-in vehicle, Lane said. It’s not going to be an electric car.
“I cannot talk about it because we have not described what it is. It requires protection today,” Lane said. “But it is not an electric vehicle. Do not think batteries.”
Speculation is that the client is Fisker Automotive. This was fueled further from an interview with Henrik Fisker at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Here he announced:
…the lower-cost hybrid will sell for $39,900. The company is looking at several closed assembly plants in the United States for a potential site to build about 100,000 vehicles annually.
Many questions are still left unanswered. Are the two announcements really tied? Does this have something to do with another Kleiner Perkins client such as Think Global or ultracapacitor developer EEStor? Has Fisker been approved for the DOE loan? Just what the heck could a hybrid be that’s not electric?
[Source: Cleantech Group, Forbes]