Automaker Karma leases space in Irvine

The luxury carmaker Karma Automotive, which will soon begin building its hybrid electric Revero sports cars in a massive facility in Moreno Valley, has leased space for its design studios and business offices in Irvine.

The company formerly known as Fisker Automotive has agreed to lease 262,000 square feet of space in the former Kawasaki motorcycle headquarters on Jeronimo Road.

Bixby Land Co. acquired the real estate from Kawasaki last year.

The Karma was once the brainchild of Los Angele strained designer and entrepreneur Henrik Fisker. His Fisker Automotive was acquired by Wanxiang Group, a Chinese auto parts giant that also owns A123, the battery company that produced the power packs for the Fisker cars.

In an interview with The Times this year, Karma Chief Marketing Officer Jim Taylor said that while manufacturing would take place in Moreno Valley, the company would need office space somewhere more appealing to attract top design talent at a time when well-funded, topdrawer electric car companies such as Tesla and Faraday Future are competing for the best people.

“It’s a dogfight to hire any engineer, especially in the EV world,” Taylor said. Locating outside Moreno Valley “makes it more attractive.”

Karma recently announced that the public would be able to reserve a Revero starting Sept. 8. It said cars would be headed to dealerships, including one in Pasadena, this year and would be sold directly to the public through a showroom somewhere in Orange County.

The company has said it hopes to sell 3,000 or more of the $100,000 four-door sedans annually and has plans to produce additional models in the near future.