Fisker's luxury electric vehicles are winning praise for their eco-leather interiors, as the company says it has almost finished dealing with a voluntary battery recall.
According to Cnet, the Fisker Karma EcoStandard and EcoSport models use “low carbon leather” from Bridge of Weir for their steering wheel, dash, seats, door casings and central console.
Bridge of Weir says the leather travels less than 100 km from slaughterhouse to tannery, while most vehicle interior leathers travel thousands of miles. The company says its computerized dye dispensing system reduces waste, and its plant also uses hydroelectric power and natural gas.
Last month, BBC’s Top Gear magazine named the Karma its luxury car of the year.
This week, Fisker said most Karmas affected by its battery pack recalls are back in service, two weeks after it learned of the issue. The company had recalled 239 units to fix a hose clamp in the battery pack, made by A123 Systems. The cars were at risk of leaking coolant, posing a fire risk, Business Week said.
Fisker said the recall affected both customer cars and dealer-held vehicles. Most of the cars affected have now had new battery packs fitted or had repairs to the hose clamp assembly. The rest of customers have been contacted about the issue, the firm said.
Fisker’s recall came only a month after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration formally opened an investigation into fire risks posed by the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid. Three fires broke out in Volt lithium-ion battery packs, three weeks after being damaged in a crash test.
Last month GM CEO Dan Akerson has insisted that the cars are safe, but said that if necessary, GM will recall all 6,000-plus Volts now being driven in the U.S.
