Electric vehicle manufacturer Fisker has partnered with Hakim Unique Group on electric, autonomous shuttles for use in smart cities.
Fisker is undergoing a bit of a renaissance after relaunching. The intellectual property and design rights for its first car, the Karma, were sold to a Chinese auto parts company in 2014. Founder Henrik Fisker still owned the name, though, and Fisker Inc. is set to unveil a new car, the EMotion, in January 2018.
The autonomous shuttle, called the Orbit, is slated for delivery by the end of 2018. Henrik Fisker pointed to Hakim Unique Group’s experience with smart cities as the reasoning behind their partnership. Hakim Unique Group owns more than 160 companies and specializes in smart city infrastructure from consulting to integration, implementation, and operation.
“Our tireless work at Fisker Inc. has never just been about the design and development of our own compelling electric vehicles – but exploring new frontiers in technology across multiple industries for the advancement of human mobility and progression of society as a whole,” said Henrik Fisker, chairman and CEO. “It’s in this spirit that we’re thrilled to partner with Hakim Unique Group and a top entrepreneur in ‘Jack’ Wang Qicheng – who’s been at the forefront in investment, development, and implementation of infrastructure for the smart cities of the future.”
Hakim and Fisker have not announced which city will be the first to host the Orbit autonomous shuttle.
Like many electric vehicles, Fisker cars run on li-ion batteries. The company said earlier this month that they have patented a solid-state electrode structure that will put them miles ahead of the competition in terms of storage capacity and therefore range, although they have not yet demonstrated its practical use at commercial scale.
