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Despite being increasingly massive, In the electric car market, there are still few who dare to bet; especially when talking about players without much history. This is because, despite the scalability that these types of vehicles are having worldwide, and the measures that are being taken to promote them, there are still no guarantees that they are, definitively, the answer to the future of mobility.
It is in this scenario of changes and vertigo in the sector that the case of Fisker, an American company that, on the brink of bankruptcy for the second time since its founding in 2007, lowered the prices of its cars from almost $69,000 to $20,000.
The origins of the company date back to 2007 under the name Fisker Automotive. His founder, Henrik Fisker a Danish car designer with work made for bmw and Aston Martinwanted to be part of the then premature panorama of new mobility, and introduced its first model, the Karma, a plug-in hybrid, in 2008.
Although at the time it gained visibility in the market, the glory was short-lived. According to what was then communicated, after technical and production problems and the bankruptcy of its battery supplier, In 2013 Fisker Automotive filed for bankruptcy.
Three years later, after a prolonged radio silence, Fisker, from the ashes of its predecessor. Fisker’s new company, founded jointly with his wife, focused on 100% electric vehicles, leaving behind interest in hybrid technology.
It was in 2020 that they announced the arrival of what would be the brand’s flagship model, the Fisker Oceana Large electric SUV with a roof with solar panels, 300 HP of power and more than 500 kilometers of autonomy in its entry version (in total, it has three: One, Extreme and Ultra).
Production began in 2022 with the collaboration of Magna Steyr in Austria, and reservations for the vehicle also began to be taken US$250.
Once again, the scenario looked promising. In fact, in 2021, Fisker himself had an audience with the Pope Francisco where the design was defined to manufacture a “Popemobile” based on an Ocean.
Once again, the glory would be fleeting. Apparently, due to supply problems, combined with technical failures, devastating criticism and, consequently, a demand lower than expected, Fisker’s financial picture began to get complicated.
Although the firm has not yet made the bankruptcy status official, there are several signs that suggest that its arrival at that port is imminent.
To begin with, due to low demand and bad reviews, the company accumulated significant debts and suffered the cancellation of more than 40,000 Ocean reservations.
In countries like Spain, during all of 2023 only one Ocean unit was patented, and in 2024 none. For its part, in Francebeginnings of May the company stopped supporting its customers -no assistance, no coverage, no spare parts-, so that the damages became completely in the hands, and in the wallet, of the owners of the SUVs.
It was also last May that, in an attempt to buy time to reorganize its operations and find investors, Fisker GmbH, the company’s Austrian subsidiary, requested protection from creditorsa procedure similar to the preventive bankruptcy in the United States.
All of these things contributed to the loss of trust in the firm and in its vehicles, and at its depreciation.
To show that there is still movement within the brand, Fisker announced the arrival of new models, all electric: the pear, a more urban SUV than the Ocean, and theoretically more affordable; he Alaska, a pickup truck; and the Ronin, a sports car. However, considering his status, his materialization is somewhat uncertain.
Along the same lines of survival, in March the company announced a price cut of up to more than 60% for its Ocean, making it the cheapest e-car in the United States. The different versions of the SUV They started to cost US$25,000, when their original value reached US$68,999.
On the other hand, an email was shared on Reddit a week ago in which Fisker addresses his employees to inform them that, for them, the price of the SUV will be US$20,000 in any of its versions, as long as they confirm the purchase within the next 24 hours.
In the same email, the manufacturer made a clarification with an asterisk, explaining that, although options to continue operating are being evaluated, “The firm makes no representations about what warranty coverage will be available in the future, including whether services, parts and upgrades will be available.”
In short, although the discounts that Fisker is presenting are huge, the risk of buying an Ocean is much greater than the benefit, mainly because normal after-sales service is not guaranteed.
