Fisker Karma Luxury Hybrid Cars Catch Fire after Submersion from Hurricane Sandy

It turns out that electric cars don’t cope very well with being submerged by sea water. (Not that anyone ever thought they would.)

Sixteen Fisker Karma extended-range luxury hybrid cars parked in Port Newark, New Jersey earlier this week didn’t make out so well when water from Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge breached the port and submerged the vehicles. The cars, which carry price tags of about $100,000 each, then caught fire and burned extensively.

Fisker released a statement confirming the event.

“It was reported today that several Fisker Karmas were damaged by fire at the Port of Newark after being submerged in sea water during Superstorm Sandy. We can report that there were no injuries and none of the cars were being charged at the time,” said the company. “We have confidence in the Fisker Karma and safety is our primary concern. While we intend to find the cause as quickly as possible, storm damage has restricted access to the port. We will issue a further statement once the root cause has been determined.”

Jalopnik is reporting that this is not the first time that the luxury hybrid cars have had problems with electrical fires and sudden combustion. The website provides photos of the burned out cars. 

Consumer Reports, which reviewed the car this spring, delivered bad news when the Fisker car it was test-driving broke down.