Fisker scores new funds

The Karma is expected to cost $88

Southern California plug-in hybrid maker Fisker Automotive in late May announced it received $35 million to wrap up a $189 million funding round.

That puts the Irvine-based company’s total private equity investment at more than $300 million, and will allow the automaker to roll out its first model, the Fisker Karma, later this year, the company says. In January 2010, Fisker pulled in $115 million from investors including A123 Systems (Nasdaq: AONE), which also plans to supply batteries for Fisker’s autos.

With an anticipated price tag of $88,000, the Karma is expected to enter full production in early 2011, to be followed by Project NINA, a lower-cost vehicle slated for production in 2012.

The newest infusion on funds could also help Fisker tap into more than $528 million in federal loans it was awarded in 2009 through the Advanced Vehicle Technology Program, which requires vehicle makers to come up with at least 20 percent of project costs.