Almost every commentator is saying the Anaheim Calif.-based plug-in hybrid maker’s bankruptcy is imminent – and for all we know it might be – yet inexplicably the company has just posted a new Web site with an eye toward a future.

The under-construction Web site is only a mock-up with a promise of “coming soon.”

It has tabs that are not all working, but one is titled “Tomorrow” under which is named the Atlantic model not yet in production, as well as the future Sunset convertible version of the Karma, and Surf “shooting brake” version of the Karma.

The site also has instructions for first responders to safely handle a high-voltage crashed Karma, among several other tabs. You can check it out for yourself here.

What’s going on?

As has been widely reported, Fisker has been in an extremely defensive posture, having faced a Republican-led subcommittee yesterday among numerous other dire portents of its pending collapse.

A couple of weeks ago, GigaOm reported Fisker was being sued for $535,000 by its Web designer, so that its old Web site was taken down is not out of the ordinary.

But now it has a new site hinting at plans to come?

If the company – which reportedly has bankruptcy documents drawn up – is indeed planning to file them, why bother with a Web site talking about “tomorrow?”

We have communications into Fisker, but so far have been unsuccessful in getting through. Not surprising that, as Fisker has widely been reported as not responding to reporter inquiries.

If we learn more, we’ll let you know.

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After weeks of analysis by PrivCo’s staff of attorneys, accountants and financial analysts, PrivCo released yesterday its timeline detailing Fisker Automotive’s “Road To Ruin,” supplemented by never-before published documents.

Based in New York, PrivCo describes itself as a provider of private company financial data and business research. PrivCo publishes exclusive financial data on over 207,000 private companies, as well as over 78,000 private company deal details

The full timeline of Fisker’s financial history can be found on PrivCo’s dedicated Fisker page.

The main conclusions found in PrivCo’s report are:

• With $1.3 Billion in venture capital and small private investor money raised and spent in just 5 years, Fisker spent a stunning $660,000 for each vehicle it produced, a vehicle that had a sticker price of $100,000
• Fisker sold fewer than 2,200 vehicles in the company’s lifetime, a third of which remained unsold
• U.S. Department of Energy took no action to enforce an issued “Drawdown Stop Notice” under the “Consequences of Default” provisions of the Fisker DOE Loan and Credit Agreement in June 2011
• Fisker Automotive has less than $20 Million in cash on hand
• 1,200 individual investors were induced to invest a total of $142M in now worthless Fisker stock by a brokerage firm shuttered by S.E.C. for fraudulent sales practices
• Fisker’s U.S. taxpayer loan and credit line repayment is due Monday, April 22nd in the amount of $20.2 Million
• Fisker to file for bankruptcy within days

PrivCo CEO Sam Hamadeh said that “Fisker Automotive may well go down as the most tragic venture capital-backed debacle in recent history. The sheer scale of investment capital and government loan money — over $1.3 Billion in all — was squandered so rapidly and with so little to show for it that the wreckage is breathtaking. Bankruptcy will be the end of Fisker, but for the taxpayers, venture capital firms, individual investors, and Fisker’s suppliers, it will all be too little too late.”

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Needing cash, having not produced a Karma since last July, unable to find a suitable partner or investor, and with an April 22 loan payment looming, Fisker is considering the possibility and needs to know what its options are.

The company also recently furloughed 200 U.S. workers to save money, and it is on the hook for an undisclosed payment on about $192 million in debt under the Energy Department’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program.

Fisker has played down the furloughs as a normal business procedure and has not divulged the amount of payment due next month.

The Energy Department secured the loan with Fisker’s equipment and property, and in the event of a bankruptcy by Fisker, it could be put in control of the company

According to the Wall Street Journal which first reported the bankruptcy contingency plan, an Energy Department representative has said it “is committed to the best outcome for taxpayers.”

Previously the Energy Department retained Houlihan Lokey Inc., an investment bank, to track Fisker’s efforts to raise funds.

Fisker in turn had previously used the services of Evercore Partners to help it find potential investors, and it has hired Huron Consulting Group to help with management of daily operations while it negotiates. A Huron employee serves as Fisker’s chief administration officer.

Comments from Fisker and the attorney handling the potential bankruptcy for Kikland & Ellis were not immediately available upon filing this story.

Wall Street Journal

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The one looking most favorable, according to a “knowledgeable individual” who spoke to Reuters is the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.

Another possible contender is Dongfeng Motor Group Co. which is owned by the Chinese state, but word has it this government-controlled entity may be mired down with decision makers, and not the perfect partner for Fisker.

Geely however is controlled by one man, Li Shufu, and his company also owns Volvo of Sweden. In Geely’s favor, according to the report, is the company is prepared to move fast, demonstrates passion and is “more serious.”

Offers being made are reportedly in the range of $200 million to $300 million, and this could set the Anaheim-based company on track to build its series plug-in hybrid Atlantic expected to start at around $55,000.

Fisker has confirmed the company has received offers, but it and the parties said to be directly involved refuse to elaborate.

Reuter’s source is described as being close to both Geely and Fisker, and said Geely has previously showed itself adept at making cross-border acquisitions, and successfully negotiated purchase of Volvo in 2010 from Ford Motor Co.

“Overall, we think Geely is a better fit,” the said the source.

Also expected to be involved is Fisker’s present battery supplier – Wanxiang Group – which purchased A123 Systems business operations.

Bids now being considered were reportedly made around the time of a January trip to Asia by Fisker CEO Tony Posawatz. If things go as planned, and given Fisker needs the funds quickly, it is said a deal could be finalized as soon as the middle of March.

Reuters

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Last week, company co-founder Henrik Fisker told reporters production will begin again “fairly soon.”

He gave no exact date for this, but confirmed recent reports Fisker is in talks with the Chinese buyer of A123 System’s business assets, auto parts giant, Wanxiang Group Co.

“We are negotiating with them,” Henrik Fisker said of Wanxiang and A123 in response to a question about Fisker again receiving batteries.

As for the A123 sale, last month, Wanxiang was approved to purchase most of A123’s assets by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment. The federal oversight was deemed necessary due to national security concerns.

Henrik Fisker was also asked but declined to share specifics about the search for new investors.

“We have several interested parties,” he added.

What is known is late last year Fisker hired Evercore Partners Inc. to aid it in its search to find potential investors or partners.

And prior to this, Fisker has done a decent job of raising venture capital, but plays its cards close to its chest, having become a favorite target by certain pundits who link the company with President Obama’s political agenda.

In a recent interview with HybridCars.com, for its part, Fisker said its agenda is the same: To become an American car manufacturer producing extended-range EVs, and the Atlantic is next up on its roster.

The company stopped worked involved in preparing its wholly owned Delaware assembly plant to build the upper mid-level Atlantic, and has long since said its aim is to produce this car in the U.S. and effectively prove naysayers incorrect.

Bloomberg

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According to Reuters, one of the Chinese firms is Wanxiang Group, the company that in December won an auction for bankrupt U.S. lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems, Fisker’s primary battery supplier.

Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher told Reuters only that the company is “in advanced talks with a number of potential strategic partners,” with possible developments announced in the next few months. Ormisher abstained from further comment on the matter.

Attempts to seek European funding late last year by Fisker CEO, Tony Posawatz, proved fruitless says Reuters, and so the next step was China. The Chinese government is setting about putting half a million electric vehicles in operation in the next few years, and Chinese automakers are aggressively seeking alternative fuel technologies in an effort to help meet this stated goal.

As for the build stoppage of the Karma, Ormisher told AutoblogGreen that this was the result of Fisker management wanting a new contract with workers at the Valmet plant in Finland – where the Karma is assembled – the timing of which coincided with the bankruptcy of A123 Systems.

“We took the prudent decision to conserve our battery stock, and we already have sufficient supply of Karmas through Q1 of this year,” Ormisher told AutoblogGreen. “By that time we hope to have renegotiated our battery supply with A123′s new owners Wanxiang.”

Reuters, AutoblogGreen

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The timing of the hiring (which coincided with the DOE’s decision to delay approximately $336 million in unreleased loan funds to carmaker,) seems to imply that the agency may have been particularly concerned with Fisker.

Since unveiling its Karma at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, Fisker has faced several well-documented setbacks, including missed production dates, the potential loss of the DOE loan money, and most recently, an unfortunate manufacturing flaw in the Karma’s A-123 Systems-supplied lithium ion battery pack. In recent months, Fisker has brought in a new CEO, downgraded its 2012 production estimate for the Karma from 12,000 to 4000, and talked publicly about the possibility of moving production of its next vehicle―the recently-unveiled Fisker Atlantic―outside of the United States.

Still, there has been positive news to report for the carmaker. Fisker has delivered about 800 Karmas in its first few months of production (a milestone that took fellow plug-in vehicle startup Tesla roughly a year to complete,) bringing in more than $100 million in much-needed revenue. The company also announced this month that it had successfully raised more than $300 million in private capital in its latest round of financing, bringing its total private investment to close to $1 billion.

The test for Fisker―with or without the DOE loans―has always been whether it can keep enough money coming in to finance production of the Atlantic, which still has no finalized manufacturing site, much less a fully-equipped assembly line. With $400 million in new money on hand, we can hopefully expect to see the carmaker take steps to remedy that in the near future.

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Fisker Automotive announced yesterday a significant expansion in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA).

The California-based maker of the Karma and pending Atlantic signed an exclusive agreement with the Al-Futtaim Group, one of the region’s most experienced automotive distributors, to handle sales operations in these markets.

Al-Futtaim has more than 70 years of experience running automotive dealer networks and is a distributor for numerous brands across the MENA region, including Lexus, Volvo, Jeep, Toyota, Hino, Dodge, Honda, and Chrysler.

Fisker’s expansion in the region will begin this year in the United Arab Emirates by utilizing Al-Futtaim’s first regional flagship dealership in Dubai Festival City.

Through Al-Futtaim’s network of retailers, Fisker will quickly be able to reach customers in the U.A.E, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Egypt.

Fisker’s first vehicle to be sold in these markets will be the Fisker Karma sedan.

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Components for Fisker and for Ford are now being built by Magna E-Car Systems in Michigan.

Magna E-Car Systems, which is a partnership between Magna International and the Stronach Group, announced yesterday the grand opening of its latest facility, a plant in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, that manufactures components for hybrid and electric vehicles.

The 66,000-square-foot facility has approximately 95 employees to help make electric motors, inverters and electronic powertrain controllers for the Ford Focus Electric, as well as inverters for the Fisker Karma and assorted components for other global customers.

The company also recently signed a Canadian battery manufacturing partnership with Hyundai Heavy Industries, has showcased a small test fleet of converted Chevy Equinox Crossover based electric vehicles, and is continuing to position itself in the budding industry.

Including Grand Blanc Township, Magna E-Car Systems now has four facilities in North America and two in Europe working on several programs for some of the world’s leading global automakers. The company has approximately 700 employees globally.

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Despite rumors and speculation suggesting Fisker has changed plans to build the Atlantic in its Wilmington, Del. facility following a frozen Energy Department loan, the company is emphasizing it still aims to fulfill original production goals in place since 2009.

According to Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher, who spoke to us in a phone interview yesterday, “hypothetical” scenarios its representatives answered questions about were taken by some reporters to paint a picture beyond Fisker’s actual position to date.

“Delaware’s the first option, that’s where we’re going to try and make it,” Ormisher said.

He had to hedge it a little, as company CEO Tom LaSorda did go on record with a strong-sounding statement that “the whole plan has changed,” and while not denying it, Ormisher said present circumstances would make it illogical to build the extended-range EV anywhere else.

The Atlantic – shown this week at the New York Auto Show – has been reported as “90-percent” ready for production, but Ormisher indicated the amount of money now suspended and still under negotiation with the U.S Department of Energy is the only thing holding Atlantic production back.

“We’re ready to go when we close with the DOE,” Ormisher said adding the company has spent tens of millions already on refurbishing what was formerly General Motors’ Boxwood assembly plant. It reportedly needs a paint shop completed, but Ormisher said no major roadblocks were in place.

Further, Fisker has reportedly also built relations with Wilmington authorities and community leaders, plus, Ormisher noted the company has “already recycled around 14 million pounds of materials,” and having invested many dollars and much sweat, Ormisher noted that Fisker owns the plant outright.

So, to back out now over money would come with additional costs, Ormisher said, and he would not speculate about relocation to anywhere else, while adding the company intends to be an American manufacturer, and has no plans to build the Atlantic alongside the Karma in Finland.

Presently, the amount of money preventing Fisker from starting Delaware assembly, while not insubstantial, is also not earth shattering compared to the over $1 billion it has thus far garnered.

Ormisher confirmed the frozen DOE loan amounts to about $336 million hanging in the balance, and “that’s all we need,” he said, plus the company is also talking with private investors, and has done quite well of late.

As we recently reported, Fisker more than doubled initial goals for its latest D1 round of fundraising. It garnered $392 million in private investments when it had only set a target for $150 million, and now it says it is shooting for $500 million-plus.

Just in the past month, the company secured $130 million in private equity, Ormisher said, and has delivered over 700 Karmas to date, thus delivering product despite media-chronicled setbacks.

Ormisher confirmed LaSorda said the Atlantic will be built with or without DOE money, and clarified the company would entertain the option to change course later this year only if it found this was necessary.

But that is a road the company has yet to take, and for now, plans are the same as they have been albeit with some loose ends – about one-third of a billion dollars’ worth – yet shy from being all tied up. Whether resolution comes via the DOE or other channels, Ormisher emphasized Fisker’s attitude remains optimistic and it intends to make it happen.

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