A new report from the US press claims that the company Karma Automotive is preparing to announce its bankruptcy. This will confirm previous rumors that the manufacturer’s ambitious expansion strategy (new modular platforms, autonomous driving, etc.) was a pure marketing move to attract investors.
According to information leaked last April, the Chinese company Wanxiang Group, the parent of Karma Automotive, decided not to make the previously announced investments in the company. The reason behind this is because the various projects announced by the brand in recent months are were false.
According to employees of Karma Automotive itself, the situation of the company in recent times has been very complicated: the lack of funds has been compounded by numerous layoffs, as well as intense pressure on all those workers who kept their jobs. Also, employees claim that the prototypes presented so far were not real, intended to distort the company’s image.
One of the examples cited by Karma Automotive workers is the Tier 4 autonomous prototype based on the RAM Promaster van that the company unveiled a few weeks ago. The prototype was never finished or tested, as the engineers thought it was too dangerous to roll with such an underdeveloped vehicle.