A bankruptcy court has approved the sale of one-time star electric carmaker Fisker Automotive to the Chinese auto parts group Wanxiang, the US firm said Monday.

California-based Fisker said it received approval from the bankruptcy court in Delaware of its sale for $149.2 million.

The group filed for bankruptcy protection in November, months after laying off most of its workforce.

Fisker was started in southern California in 2007 by former Aston Martin and BMW designer Henrik Fisker and German business partner Bernhard Koehler.

While it did not have the expected success with its sleek hybrid Karma sports car — which it billed as “a bold expression of uncompromised responsible luxury” — the $100,000 vehicle did attract interest from the likes of stars such as Justin Bieber, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ashton Kutcher.

Fisker turned into a political liability for President Barack Obama’s administration because it received US government loans to promote green car technology.