Fisker unveils tougher electric SUV and easier production targets
Electric vehicle startup Fisker has unveiled a rugged off-road version of its Ocean SUV as it delays the launch of its next model and scales back its production targets.
This latest news comes as a company delivers its first Ocean One Introductory model at the Fisker Centre+ in Copenhagen, Denmark. In the meantime, other locations have also been opened in Munich.
Deliveries of the rugged Fisker Ocean Force E are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year.
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It features “significant” ground clearance and ramp angles, reinforced 20″ wheels with 33″ off-road tires, “special” dampers, and an estimated power output of 405 kW.
Fisker points out that all Ocean models with dual engines and four-wheel drive can be retrofitted with this off-road package.
According to the company’s latest financial results, contract manufacturer Magna Steyr has manufactured 55 Ocean models for engineering, marketing and customization so far this year at its plant in Graz, Austria.
That’s one less than in the fourth quarter of 2022 and also below the previous target of 300 vehicles to be produced in the first quarter of this year.
Fisker continues to anticipate an increase in production and is currently targeting production of 1400 to 1700 Oceans in Q2 2023. By the end of the third quarter of this year, the company is targeting a monthly production rate of 6000.
Partly due to the lower production numbers in the first quarter, Fisker has reduced its projected production target for 2023 from 42,400 units to 32,000 to 36,000. This all depends on “all partners delivering”.
It’s worth noting that Fisker still says there are 65,000 reservations for the Ocean. Also, there are said to be more than 8,000 reservations for the upcoming Pear.
Speaking of Pear, Fisker has delayed production start to 2025 as it finalizes its battery partners. The previous plan was for production to begin in 2024 at Foxconn’s newly acquired Ohio facility.
Although the EV startup hasn’t mentioned anything about it Project Ronin Its latest financial results said the company will unveil “several new models” at Investor Product Day later this year.
On the financial side, as of March 31, 2023, Fisker reported cash and equivalents of US$652.5 million (~AUD963 million), plus value added tax (VAT) of US$22 million (~AUD32 million). ). That’s around US$80 million (~A$118 million) down from the end of last year.
Operating loss totaled US$121.6 million (approximately A$180 million), due in part to higher research and development expenses in the first quarter of this year. There was also a total net loss of US$120.6 million (~AUD178 million).
