Karma Automotive is touting its new platform for extended-range electric vehicles, which the California-based company claims can be used for a variety of different vehicle types.
The E-Flex platform is flexible enough to underpin everything from autonomous delivery vans to "high-performance supercars," a Karma press release said.
"There are up to 22 different possible configurations available, covering various battery-packaging variants and different drive motor systems," Karma COO Kevin Pavlov said in a statement.
Karma plans to market the E-Flex platform to other vehicle manufacturers, similar to what Rivian has done with its "skateboard" EV platform.
Karma's only current production model is the Revero GT luxury plug-in hybrid (along with a sportier GTS derivative), which can trace its lineage back to the Fisker Karma.
After Fisker Automotive declared bankruptcy, most of its assets were purchased by Chinese auto-parts conglomerate Wanxiang and reconstituted into Karma Automotive.
Karma E-Flex extended-range EV platform
The current Revero GT has an EPA-rated electric range of 61 miles, substantially more than the old Fisker Karma. That's the longest electric range of any plug-in hybrid except the BMW i3 REx.
Since relaunching, Karma has indicated that it will focus on fully-electric vehicles. At the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show, it unveiled the all-electric SC1 Vision concept alongside the Revero GT and a Pininfarina concept that shared the Revero's powertrain.
In November 2019, Karma pitched the idea of an extended-range electric truck for fleets. More recently, Karma said it was working on an all-electric pickup truck (as well as an SUV based on the same platform) separately from the extended-range model.
An all-electric truck aimed at retail buyers rather than fleets would likely have more competition, in the form of the Rivian R1T, Tesla Cybertruck, GMC Hummer EV, and an electric variant of the Ford F-150, to name a few. But if Karma can find the right niche between its E-Flex platform and all-electric, the more the merrier.