Southern California-based Karma Automotive will bring its luxury electric vehicle niche and VVIP ownership experiences to 13 new cities in the U.S. and 19 new countries by 2020 to support its plans for rapid product expansion.
“Karma was born and is deeply rooted in California but we are a global company,” says Karma CEO Dr. Lance Zhou. “We are continually evaluating growth opportunities for the brand as we make a measured rollout of our products to additional export markets. We will soon be live in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and then China.”
In the U.S., Karma Automotive is pursuing new retail agreements with specialized luxury retailers in several key Western and East Coast markets. Beyond Karma’s home market, the company is implementing expanded export operations in North Africa, South America, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.
The company is also accelerating plans to establish a dedicated European-based operation before the end of 2019 to help manage the brand’s expanding presence and growth plans across the continent.
The retail growth plans are an important precursor to the U.S. launch later this year of Karma’s 2020 Revero GT luxury electric vehicle to be followed by all-new fully-electrified global platform in 2021. The new architecture is previewed by Karma’s SC1 Vision concept, a signpost to Karma’s future technical and direction and a recognition of the future state of the luxury electric vehicle market that’s still based on stunning design proportions. The company’s new full-BEV program will spawn a variety of new vehicles and is designed to provide a long-term sustainable foundation for the company.
By establishing Karma in the U.S. first, the world’s most demanding luxury market, Karma CEO Dr. Lance Zhou says he believes the company can succeed anywhere.
“To win in our luxury electric vehicle niche, it’s not enough to simply offer a great product and owner experience, we must also be sure we establish distribution points in the right places,” he adds. “By gradually expanding our presence this way I am confident our company – and our products – will be well prepared for the world’s discerning luxury buyer of the future.”
The automaker is currently represented by 18 retail partners in the U.S., Canada and Chile. Karma’s growth plans will take the company from one continent in 2018, to five continents this year and next before bringing the brand to China in 2021.
