DETROIT (Reuters) - Chinese auto parts maker Wanxiang Group will push back its planned relaunch of the defunct Fisker Karma hybrid sports car until mid-2016 and rebrand Fisker Automotive as Elux, two sources familiar with the plan said Sunday.
Wanxiang, which acquired the assets of California-based Fisker Automotive a year ago in a U.S. bankruptcy auction, had hoped to revive the Karma this year.The revised version of the Karma will be renamed Elux Karma and the Fisker name will be dropped, said the sources, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak for Wanxiang.The sources said the revived gasoline-electric car will not be assembled in Finland as earlier planned. Wanxiang has not finalized a production site, the sources said.Wanxiang plans to price the car from around $135,000, the sources said, nearly 20 percent higher than the final price of the original Karma, which ceased production in 2012.Wanxiang did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Fisker Automotive was an early rival of Tesla Motors Inc