China's leading auto-parts maker Wanxiang Group said Friday it plans to resume production at Fisker after it purchased the firm in a 149.2 million-dollar deal this week.
Wanxiang will restart production in the coming months at Fisker's manufacturing plant in Finland and then at a disused plant in Delaware, United States, which Fisker bought from General Motors in 2010, the company said.
A U.S. court judge on Tuesday approved the deal in which Wanxiang purchased the bankrupt electric car maker based in California.
In the next 18 months, Wanxiang aims to sell at least 1,000 Karma vehicles in the U.S. and 500 in Europe. Fisker once dubbed Karma as the "world's first high performance electric luxury vehicle".
"Hybrid power cars have won recognition among consumers in the U.S., Europe and Japan, but the sale of such vehicles is still at the beginning in China," said Lu Guanqiu, founder and chairman of Wanxiang Group.
Wangxiang will focus on sales of hybrid power vehicles in the U.S. and Europe, he added.
In early 2013, Wanxiang Group purchased bankrupt U.S. battery-maker A123 Systems for about 250 million U.S. dollars.
Chinese private companies increasingly invested in overseas companies in the second half of 2013.
According to a report issued by PricewaterhouseCoopers, outbound activity of China's privately-owned enterprises was surprisingly low in the first half of last year but rebounded to a new six-month high with 88 deals in the July-December period.
"Even if a purchase is completed, it does not mean success," warned Zhang Handong, head of an international trade research center in eastern China's Zhejiang Province.
"Chinese companies have wanted to buy foreign assets in trouble, but due to lack of expertise, random purchases may bring more trouble," added Zhang.
Chinese private firms are quite active overseas, but they still need time to integrate, according to Zhang.
Source: Xinhua
