Fisker, Valmet Finalize Assembly Deal

California-based Fisker Automotive Inc. finalizes an assembly contract with Finland’s Valmet Automotive Oy that will see production of the Fisker Karma 4-door plug-in hybrid begin in fourth-quarter 2009.

The deal calls for annual output to reach 15,000 vehicles.

Valmet will set up a new body welding line for the Karma, but painting and assembly operations for the car will be integrated with the rest of production at the Uusikaupunki, Finland, plant.

Valmet President Ilpo Korhonen says the addition of the Karma will provide employment for 500 hourly workers once full production is reached.

Valmet currently makes Boxster and Cayman models for Porsche AG, but in June Porsche announced it would shift that work to Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik AG & Co. KG’s plant in Graz, Austria, beginning in 2012.