Fisker Automotive manufacturing genius

The Fisker Karma

Yesterday, we looked at how the automobile industry is littered with failed attempts from startups and how Fisker Automotive wants a chance to change how cars are designed and built.

The gist is that the genius so far with Fisker Automobile is the idea to outsource as much as possible the manufacturing aspect.  The reason is that there are professional companies who sole function is to run factories, something Henrik Fisker does not want to do.

Outsourcing The Karma.  The Karma is an interesting project.  The manufacturing will be handled by Valmet Automotive of Finland.  By doing so, Fisker estimates they are saving one third of one billion dollars and can design a car in two and half years, half that of traditional car makers.  The stroke of genius, as far as the manufacturing aspect is that Fisker gave $25 million in advance to help offset the cost of retooling, plus a fee for every cars produced.

The convertible Karma, courtesy of AutoBlogGreen.

Looking Into The Future.  If building abroad is a touchy subject these days, Fisker says he wants the next $50,000 sedan to be built in an abandoned U.S. plant.  The idea is to outsource the management of the plant to Valmet.  This explains why Fisker Automotive has filed for some of the Department of Energy, DoE's funds.

Outsourcing, The Money Saver.  Where Fisker Automotive saves is by having a lean infrastructure with employees who absolutely necessary.  In fact, Fisker only employs 200 people, the rest are contractors.  As examples of how this can save money, when it came time to design the headlights of the Karma, Fisker hired 15 to 20 engineers from Valeo.  Once the product was designed, the company did not have to keep these engineers on board.  The same thing applies for the door handles which were taken from GM.  Fisker did not have to come up with a door handle department, which will save them money in the long run.

Tomorrow we will look at the greater implications for the car industry and manufacturing in general.  Stay tuned for part III

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