- Fisker Pickup ldea Still Alive
- Fisker Ocean Could Arrive Ahead of Schedule
- Keeping Costs Down Is Key
- Signature Fisker Features Include Rotating Screen
- Consumers Expect More From Electric Vehicles
- Fisker Past and Present
You can’t be a successful carmaker with only one car, says Henrik Fisker, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Fisker Inc., a company that makes electric vehicles. Or rather one electric vehicle: the 2023 Fisker Ocean SUV, due in late 2022.
But the plan is for a lineup of four different vehicles by 2025, not counting three-row and performance options for the Ocean. One of the additional models is a smaller, ultra-modern, oddly-dimensioned and segment-busting five-passenger EV due in 2024 called the Fisker PEAR, for “Personal Electric Automotive Revolution. “
“We’re going to enter many different segments,” Henrik tells MotorTrend. “Every car that we bring out will be in a different segment, different body style.”
There are expectations of a coupe-like crossover and high-end super sedan based on the Emotion concept shown in 2018.
Fisker Pickup ldea Still Alive
And plans potentially include a pickup truck (but not a full-size work truck) to compete in a segment dominated by Detroit automakers with decades of experience. In January 2021 Fisker tweeted a teaser image of a small, lightweight, lifestyle pickup truck, promising the final version will be more radical.
“I think pickups can be fun and I wouldn’t rule out that we would do some sort of pickup in the future,” he says, confirmation his plans have not changed almost a year later.
To date, the Ocean is the only vehicle we have seen. The PEAR is the only other Fisker model officially announced, slated to go on sale in 2024, but we may not actually see it until 2023. Henrik won’t even divulge the body style of the mystery PEAR that will start under $30,000 and won’t have a traditional trunk, hatch or door opening. The PEAR uses a different platform than the Ocean and will be manufactured by Foxconn at a plant it is purchasing in Lordstown, Ohio.
The 2023 Fisker Ocean is a five-passenger electric SUV on track to begin deliveries in November 2022 with a starting price of $37,449 for a 275-hp front-wheel drive model with a range of 250 miles. Bump up to the $49,999 Ultra with two motors for all-wheel drive and a range of 340 miles. The $68,999 Extreme top trim offers 550 horsepower and more than 350 miles of range and comes with a large solar glass roof.
When Henrik showed the production Ocean last month at the L.A. auto show, he had 19,000 reservations already lined up for the SUV that will be assembled by Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria. The CEO hopes to have the first full year of production—40,000-50,000 units in 2023—sold out by the time the car hits the market. “That’s our aim, to have 50,000 orders or reservations by the end of next year.”
Fisker Ocean Could Arrive Ahead of Schedule
The Ocean might reach customers ahead of the targeted November date, he says, given how smoothly things are going so far. Fisker is fine tuning and testing, including crash tests with prototypes it is building now.
The Ocean was originally based on a platform developed by Magna, but Fisker engineers made so many changes that it ultimately became the carmaker’s own platform with unique proportions, says Henrik. The Ocean uses an aluminum skateboard platform with a steel body. Magna won’t share the final Fisker platform with other automakers, but aspects of the original proposal could end up on competitors’ vehicles.
The Ocean platform is flexible and will be used for at least one more new vehicle, likely more. “We obviously want to use all this hard work, so we are planning at least one more vehicle on this platform, but we haven’t announced any details about it. But it will make a lot of sense to do,” the CEO says. The Magna-derived platform “has some interesting features that we could move a vehicle in different directions. That is what we are looking at, we just don’t want to announce it yet.”
Keeping Costs Down Is Key
Regardless of platform, many parts from the Ocean, such as door handles, will be re-used on all four vehicles, including the PEAR, for savings derived from economies of scale.
“I want everyone in the organization to be thinking about efficiency and cost,” Henrik says. “To make the Ocean, as big as it is, with all the options, for $37,500 is not an easy task.” It took a long time, working with suppliers, to take money out of every part. The CEO says he is also able to keep pricing low because Fisker is a lean company with no dealers, services, or plants to pay for. And it is nimble and able to make fast decisions.
On one point he is clear: a smaller SUV would not be a baby version of the Ocean. “I don’t want to make sausage cars of different lengths that look the same,” Henrik says. A smaller SUV from Fisker would be styled differently.
Signature Fisker Features Include Rotating Screen
The designer by trade—Fisker created stunning designs for BMW and Aston Martin, as well as early work on the Tesla Model S—says he wants to offer truly unique features to every segment he competes in. On the Ocean, it is the patented 17.1-inch rotating screen; Push a button to change it from portrait to landscape to watch a movie. “That will be a signature of Fisker,” Henrik says, and you should expect to see it in other future products.
The Ocean also has a large solar roof and “California mode” which lowers the windows, rear quarter glass, rear hatch glass and sunroof panels with the push of a button. This feature would not translate as easily to future models, the rear window needs a unique curvature which would be hard to do on vehicles with a different angle.
The industry veteran said he wanted to use his skills to create an affordable vehicle, as opposed to a $100,000 vehicle. He also wanted to use sustainable materials and be able to offer the longest range in the vehicle class.
Financially, Fisker Inc. is strong and Henrik does not expect a repeat of the bankruptcy that befell the original Fisker Automotive. “We have the money we need,” Henrik says. More suppliers are willing to work with the fledgling automaker and the Magna manufacturing partnership has helped convince suppliers, wary of startups, that the automaker can meet projected volumes. Henrik thinks the company will grow to more than 100,000 vehicles in 2024. “I think that is totally doable. We have the manufacturing capacity at Magna Steyr.”
Consumers Expect More From Electric Vehicles
EVs are no longer just for early adopters who will overlook defects. Mainstream buyers demand high quality, durable vehicles for daily use, Henrik says. It is one of the reasons Fisker decided to contract Magna to do the manufacturing rather than build its own vehicles.
“It is harder to manufacture a vehicle than people think and takes many years. We didn’t want to spend five years learning to manufacture our car. We want high quality cars straight out of the gate.”
The semiconductor chip shortage should not have an impact. Production is still a year away and Fisker uses newer chips which are not in as short supply as older chips used by many traditional automakers.
Fisker Past and Present
Henrik doesn’t think many people mistake his current company for the original Fisker Automotive which was founded in 2007 to build the Fisker Karma, a gorgeous four-door, high-end plug-in hybrid. A few thousand Karmas were built before battery supplier A123 Systems went bankrupt in 2012 and later Fisker Automotive also filed for bankruptcy. A Chinese company picked up the rights to the Karma design, tooling, and plant, but not the Fisker name. The original company was renamed Karma Automotive, and Henrik was able to resurrect his family name for his new EV company, Fisker Inc., in 2016.
Henrik says it is nice to have a brand that is not starting from zero and he doesn’t mind being associated with a beautiful car that has loyal fans. He has a Karma with about 80,000 miles on it. He added air conditioning and says its 45-50-mile range is all he needs for his short daily commute.
“l bought one of the last ones in 2012. It is a special blue, they only made 77 of them. I think this is one of the last 10 made,” he said of roughly 2,450 Karmas made before production was suspended in 2012.
Keyword: Henrik Fisker Has Big Plans, With Lots of New Vehicles