California-based Fisker Automotive has bagged a $529 million (£342m) loan from the US Department of Energy to help get its plug-in hybrids sports coupes and saloons to market.
The deal - which includes the refurbishing of a former GM assembly plant in Delaware and the creation of around 2000 jobs - will help get the Karma sports saloon on sale in the US by the end of the year.
The Karma saloon has a 300-mile range, a 125mph top speed and is claimed to be able to hit 60mph in around 6.0secs.
When it does go on sale, the Karma saloon will cost $87,900 (around £57k). It is expected to be joined soon after going on sale by a convertible version (seen in concept form as the Sunset).
But Fisker is even more ambitious than that: it wants to be building 115,000 cars by 2015, and says its Project Nina salonn, due in 2012, will cost less than $40,000 (£26k).
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