In March 2023, Marques McCammon was named president of Karma Automotive. Back then, the technology manufacturer had produced award-winning exotic vehicle designs for nearly a decade but had yet to reach its full carmaker potential. Spring forward one year, and the ultra-luxury EV specialist has introduced the Kaveya super coupe GT (November 2023), an updated version of its Revero hybrid (December 2023) and the all-electric Gyesera sedan (February 2024). Karma has simultaneously reset its brand narrative, direction and vision for the future. The post-Covid geo-political, economic and social headwinds confronting EV manufacturers are an industry-wide challenge. Some new players have already fallen from the industry already and others may as well. At Karma, those market trends also present some unique opportunities.
“We introduced our first three-vehicle portfolio – with more intros to come – and a definitive manufacturing and sales blueprint, including the initial offering of our third generation Revero in Europe later this year. We also halted all vehicle production last May to put a clear focus on quality, we cut spending on programs that weren’t clearly aligned to drive the short- and long-term value of our enterprise, and we rallied the team around a vision to be a leader in the future ultra-luxury vehicle market. Tremendous resources have been invested into this company and our mission is maximize the value of that capital while creating a new kind of luxury experience for our customers,” says McCammon.
- Additional Karma milestones during the past year include:
- Launched Engage by Karma as a micro lease business model.
- Karma was named a 2023-2024 Great Place to Work.
- Successfully defended IP rights in a lawsuit against Lordstown Motors.
- Established relationships with UC Irvine and other local universities.
Worked with Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan and Moreno Valley Mayor Ulises Cabrera on the early stages for (what McCammon calls) “a clean energy corridor” to help upskill the workforce and strengthen the clean transportation infrastructure across Southern California. (Karma has headquarters in Irvine and a 550,000 sq. ft. manufacturing plant 45 minutes east in Moreno Valley.) - Installed EV charging stations for commercial vehicles at the Moreno Valley facility.
- Started production of zero emission commercial vehicle powertrains for Class 4 vehicles.
- Established a partnership with not-for-profit CerraCap to promote female entrepreneurship.
- Completed the acquisition of IP and assets from Airbiquity, a software development/engineering company, which opens relationships with companies such as Toyota, Harley-Davidson and LiveWire.
Karma Automotive is an ultra-luxury vehicle company that engineers, designs and manufactures its electric and range extended electric vehicles in Southern California. Headquartered in Irvine, with a production facility in Moreno Valley, Karma’s dealer network includes North America, Europe, South America and the Middle East. 2024 marks Karma’s 10th anniversary – a yearlong celebration that features the world debut of several vehicles, a renewed focus on the company’s mission to be an inspiration for a smarter, cleaner global future as well as the introduction of Karma’s new brand campaign.