Karma Automotive has opened a business and technology center in Silicon Valley, the USA’s technology hub. The luxury electric vehicle manufacturer will have a small team of engineers in San Jose to help develop technical partnerships and bring innovative new products to market.
The company recently launched the 2020 Revero GT, which will be followed by another fully electric global platform in 2021. Karma’s latest vehicles will use a three-cylinder 1.5-liter BMW unit (that currently powers the i8) to charge an onboard generator and a 28kWh lithium-ion battery.
“Karma’s strength comes from our entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to collaborate and drive advanced technology solutions forward through innovative design and the personalized relationships Karma has with its partners,” said CEO Dr Lance Zhou. “We are opening our product platform to serve as a testbed to help potential business partners bring emerging innovation to market and increase the speed of our own product development.”
“Karma will use the Silicon Valley technology base to build and grow partnerships and to invest in technologies that develop its electric drive and user-experience ecosystems,” added Lewis Liu, vice president for business development and strategy, who is leading the new office. “We will also look to grow our technology ecosystem with advanced driver assistance systems, artificial intelligence and drive-by-wire capabilities as we emerge as a tech-driven brand that can serve as an important resource to other OEMs and startups.”
Through establishing a presence in Silicon Valley, Karma aims to encourage entrepreneurs to invest in future technologies, promote independent R&D, and focus on growing partnerships to develop the next generation of electric vehicles.
