Each Karma ‘cost’ Fisker $660,000 to produce

Looks like the $100,000 or so Leo and Bieber plunked down for their Fisker Karma extended-range plug-in vehicles may have been a bargain. The California-based automaker, which appears to be headed for bankruptcy, spent an estimated $660,000 for every one of fewer than 2,500 vehicles it made during its short production history, research firm PrivCo says in a new study. That doesn’t mean each Karma actually cost $660,000 to make, just that all the money spent by Fisker, divided by the number of cars produced, result in that number.

PrivCo has put together a detailed timeline of Fisker’s money gains and losses, and you can see the gory details here. PrivCo CEO Sam Hamadeh, in an April 17 statement, called Fisker “the largest venture capital-backed debacle in U.S. history.” In addition to the $193 million the company drew down from its $529 million credit line with the government, the company raised about $1.2 billion.

The company recently furloughed its US workers and has brought on an advisor for a potential bankruptcy. And last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Fisker will also be subject of a hearing from House Republicans, who will likely have a field day with PrivCo’s report. Add this to the news that Fisker continued to use funds from its US Department of Energy loan after it had violated terms of the loan multiple times, and you can see how Congress members who’ve been bashing green-energy loans the federal government’s been doling out are looking forward to the April 24 hearing.