Fisker to launch Tesla rival in 2017

Henrik Fisker has announced his relaunched car-maker, Fisker INC, will launch a new vehicle in the second half of 2017 that will feature all-new battery technology that's claimed to last longer and offer a far greater range than any other current production EV.

Releasing a single teasing drawing of a car that will be launched next year, Fisker claims the new vehicle benefits from a pioneering new battery that has been developed in-house rather than by a third-party supplier.

The new venture is not the first time the high-profile designer has gone it alone to create his own premium sedan.

The former Aston Martin chief designer was behind Fisker Automotive, which created the Karma that was made from 2011 to 2012 until the car-maker went bankrupt after spending a reported $1.9 billion worth of private and public funding.

It's not known how the new car has been funded but, in a recent interview with newswire Bloomberg, the "spiritual successor" to the Karma will succeed because it has technology that "nobody else has" and that there is "nobody even close to what we're doing out there".

The technology Fisker describes is claimed to have been created in the US and said to use far less lithium than the conventional lithium-ion cells Tesla manufacturers for its range of pure-electric vehicles.

According to the team of engineers and scientists the new battery cells will deliver a real-world 650km driving range and will last the lifetime of the car.

Describing the design, Fisker told Bloomberg his new creation will be "sporty and spacious". "There is no excuse for making an ugly car, even with new technology," said Fisker.

Once the first premium sedan is launched Fisker says his company will follow it up with a cheaper mass-market vehicle that will cost less than $50,000 but have a greater range than all its rivals, presumably the Tesla Model 3.

Fisker says his goal is to sell his new technology to other larger car-makers.