Wanxiang says it will 'bid rationally' in Fisker electric car auction

Billionaire Lu Guanqiu, a former blacksmith's apprentice who built China's biggest car parts company, says he has an edge over a rival bid for bankrupt US plug-in hybrid car maker Fisker Automotive, and would welcome ties with Tesla Motors, another US electric car maker.

"We have support from Fisker's creditors, we have support from the local government, and we have a track record of 20 years of responsible investment in the United States," Lu said at the headquarters of his Wanxiang Group in Hangzhou. "These are our advantages. The bid is not just about who pays more."

Wanxiang America will square off with Richard Li at a February 12 auction for Fisker, a failed rival to Tesla in electric cars. California-based Fisker, backed by US taxpayer money, stopped making its sleek, Karma sports car in 2012 and filed for bankruptcy protection last November.

Last month, just days before Fisker was to be sold to Hybrid Tech Holdings, an affiliate of Li's, Wanxiang made a surprise bid, prompting a US bankruptcy judge to call for an open auction.

Lu, 69, said Wanxiang, which owns A123 Systems, a maker of batteries for Fisker's cars, is better placed to restart and expand production at Fisker, and would shift production from Finland to the US, creating American jobs.

But Lu said he would walk away if the Fisker price is too high - Hybrid Tech has said its initial bid would be worth US$55 million - and seek opportunities elsewhere, adding he is open to co-operation with other electric car makers, including Tesla.