Fisker founder resigns from board

Henrik Fisker, founder of one of the highest-profile electric car makers in the US, on Wednesday became the latest casualty of the industry’s disappointing sales figures when he resigned from Fisker Automotive, citing disagreements over strategy.

Mr Fisker founded Fisker, maker of the Karma hybrid vehicle, in 2007, aiming to tap into a growing market for high-performance, luxury electric or partly electric vehicles. Mr Fisker, formerly a senior executive at Ford Motor, handed over day-to-day control of the company last year to Anthony Posawatz, a former General Motors executive. Mr Fisker moved to the role of executive chairman.

The company has been struggling since exhausting its funds and has been seeking a buyer - expected to be a Chinese carmaker.

Mr Fisker told the Financial Times he was leaving because of “major disagreements” with the company’s executive management over strategy.

The company had a “tremendous history” of having brought to market the US’s first “plug-in hybrid” - a vehicle running mainly on electrical power, but with a supplementary petrol engine - Mr Fisker said.

“I disagree about the future business strategy,” he said. Mr Fisker declined to detail the disagreements.

John O’Dell, green car analyst for Edmunds.com, the car information site, said he suspected the board wanted to find ways to cut production costs or remove features from the car.

“Those are the kinds of things that would have rankled with Henrik Fisker no end,” he said.

Fisker is currently producing no cars because of its cash shortage and faces demands to repay US government loans. Mr Fisker was not a significant shareholder in Fisker, which is privately held.

Both start-ups such as Tesla, the California-based producer of performance electric cars, and established automakers, such as General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, have sold far fewer electric vehicles than projected five years ago.

Mr O’Dell said the shortfall was hardly surprising given that carmakers were currently demanding that owners give up conventional, petrol-engined cars for vehicles that cost more and had more limited ranges.

Fisker said it thanked Mr Fisker for his service and “many contributions”. The company had a “strong and experienced management team” and its strategy had not changed, it said.

“Mr. Fisker’s departure is not expected to impact the company’s pursuit of strategic partnerships and financing to support Fisker Automotive’s continued progress as a pioneer of low-emission hybrid electric powertrain technology,” it said.