Fisker Automotive has confirmed that the 2012 Fisker Karma sedan has received emission certification and fuel economy ratings from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), allowing the company’s dealers to begin selling the car to customers immediately in most states.
The EPA found that, when running in electric mode, the Fisker Karma sedan achieves the energy equivalent of 52 miles per gallon city/highway combined. The Karma’s all-electric range was found to be 32 miles by the EPA under its test criteria. These figures are worse than Fisker’s original claim of 50 miles. To put that figure in perspective, a Karma driver with a 40-mile commute who starts each day with a full battery charge will only need to visit the gas station about every 1,000 miles and would use just 9 gallons of gasoline per month, according to Fisker.
Fisker’s own analysis suggests that many Karma drivers will actually experience a longer all electric range under most every day driving conditions. Research also reveals that more than half of American’s have a daily commute of less than 32 miles, a comfortable distance for the Karma to run in electric-only mode from a single charge.
In the end the story seems less interesting for environmentalists, because as claimed before the Karma offers a worse mpg than stated. Fisker also claims an overall range of 300 miles for the Karma. We wonder if that will ever be possible if you have a heavy right foot.
