Bridgestone becomes Fisker’s service partner
Electric car startup Fisker has announced its service partner for France and Germany. The Bridgestone Group will provide after-sales service and maintenance for Fisker customers in both countries.
Fisker had previously selected Bridgestone as the exclusive tire partner for its all-electric Ocean. Under the expanded partnership now agreed upon, Bridgestone will provide after-sales service in select stores in France through its Speedy network of more than 450 locations and in Germany with more than 300 locations through Pitstop and A/B/S Autoservice.
While Bridgestone is known internationally as a tire manufacturer, the Japanese group now also included numerous garage chains and tire dealers. Bridgestone is one of the largest rubber processors in the world.
The concept of not operating its own workshops fits in with Fisker’s asset-light strategy: the company wants to tie up as little capital as possible in its own real estate and branches, but instead use them through cooperation. The production of the Fisker Ocean is also not taking place in a Fisker plant, but at contract manufacturer Magna in Graz. The series design was presented by Fisker in mid-November, while the batteries are supplied by CATL.
“From November 17, 2022, we will start production and delivery of the Fisker Ocean SUV, with France and Germany among the first European markets to launch,” said Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker. “Our partnership with Bridgestone spans multiple areas of our business. The ability to make use of their extensive network to provide our own after-sales service will be critical to Fisker’s long-term success.”
“As part of our commitment to help shape a sustainable future of mobility, Bridgestone is supporting the adoption of electric vehicles through a fully integrated approach. This includes the development of premium tyres and technologies for EVs, along with dedicated fleet and mobility solutions,” said Laurent Dartoux, president and CEO, Bridgestone EMIA. “It also entails the development of an end-to-end EV-ready retail and service network, which includes maintenance and tyre service for EVs, charging and mobile services all together under one roof.” Bridgestone has already signed a charging cooperation with energy provider Iberdrola for its Spanish workshop subsidiary First Stop.
0 Comments