Fisker founder predicts the death of hybrid vehicles
Danish car designer, and founder of the now defunct Fisker Automotive, Henrik Fisker, has stated in a recent interview that he believes electric cars will eventually achieve mass adoption, and in the process will surpass both hybrids and plug-in hybrids. Fisker believes that although momentum has been slower than he expected in EV sales, growth remains steady, and as it continues, hybrids will lose out as consumers will make the jump straight from gasoline to all-electric cars as electric charging infrastructure improves.

Getty/Jeff Fusco

Famous car designer Henrik Fisker could be considered a pioneer in the electric car industry.

He was involved in the initial design phase of the Tesla Model S, later breaking off to create the Fisker Karma — a $100,000 luxury electric sedan. When Fisker's company behind the Karma, Fisker Automotive, went bankrupt in 2011, many wondered what the fate of the legendary designer would be.

Fisker recently announced his comeback with a new $230,000 car, the Force 1. But the Force 1, as Fisker told Tech Insider, is an "ultimate American supercar" that's a far cry from sustainable electric vehicles.

But despite breaking away from the electric car industry (at least for now, Fisker says he'd rather not put himself 'exclusively in one bucket') Fisker still sees a lot of potential in electric vehicles.

Here's what he thinks of the future:

The market 'didn't move as quick as we expected'

Fisker Automotive

Although the Fisker Karma and the company behind it has become a distant memory, Fisker said Fisker Automotive played an integral role in the electric car movement.

"I definitely think there's been a turn with Fisker Automotive," he said. "We definitely created a turn and we were part of that revolution that shows electric cars can be beautiful and exciting and fun to drive."

But one thing has been clear since that initial rush of excitement over electric cars: it's taken a lot longer than Fisker expected for mass market adoption of EVs.

"Everyone was extremely optimistic about it 10 years ago, about the EV market, and it didn't exactly turn out as optimistic as everyone saw it," he said. "It didnt move as quick as we expected."

The market hasn't moved as quickly because there aren't many options for electric cars, Fisker said. If you want a bigger, SUV-type electric car, Teslas are the only real option. And for smaller electric cars, "the choice for consumers is still fairly limited," he added.

Fisker isn't completely off base with that assessment. There are many options for electric cars outside of Tesla, like the BMW i3, Nissan Leaf, and Volkswagen e-Golf. But as has been the issue historically with electric cars, their low range is a turn off to many potential owners. Most cars aside from Tesla have a range barely touching 93 miles.

The Fisker Karma electric car. Fisker

To be fair, that's a problem that is actively changing. The Bolt EV will become available before the end of 2016 and will boast a 200-mile range, and Porsche will introduce its Mission E Concept by 2020 with a 300-mile range.

It's for that reason electric cars are here to stay.

"The choice for consumers is still fairly limited, but in my mind there's no doubt electric cars are here to stay," he said. "It is going to be a growing segment and it will continue to grow."

That growth is exactly why Fisker isn't so positive on hybrid cars.

"The car industry has invested a lot in hybrid, but my opinion is electric cars will take over a lot of hybrids quicker than people think now," he explained.

As the infrastructure supporting electric cars improves, people will feel ready to "jump straight from gas to electric rather than make the transition to hybrid which is what a lot of car companies are betting on."