Fisker lowers production target

Shortly after delivering the first Ocean, Fisker lowered its production forecast for this year by up to 10,000 vehicles. Moreover, the first Fisker was registered in Germany, and the carmaker announced a new off-road version of the electric SUV.

Like Lucid Motors, Fisker corrected its production forecast for the Ocean when announcing its business figures for the first quarter. This year, instead of the initially planned 42,400 units, the carmaker plans to build between 32,000 and 36,000 Ocean EVs.

Specifically, Fisker plans to produce 1,400 to 1,700 vehicles this second quarter “provided all partners deliver”, the company says. In the third quarter, the production rate is expected to increase significantly, reaching 6,000 vehicles per month. Such production rates are necessary to achieve the target because, so far, the number of cars built is negligible. According to Fisker, “55 engineering, marketing, and customer vehicles to start the registration and delivery process in Germany and Denmark”.

“We anticipated a production of 40,000 units. The adjustment is partly due to the schedule for homologation and the supply chain,” Henrik Fisker tells German Automobilwoche. “You think you’ve thought of everything, but on the day it starts, you see all the hidden challenges. Above all, the homologation kept us on our toes because we did it simultaneously in the US and Europe. Manufacturers usually separate that in terms of time.”

Fisker plans to build 70,000 Ocean in 2024

Henrik Fisker expects that up to 70,000 vehicles can be built in 2024. At least 15,000 of these will go to European customers. The company currently has more than 65,000 reservations, meaning that the EV is sold out until well into 2024 – provided that every reservation results in a binding order.

The business figures themselves are still not very meaningful, as the first vehicles were only delivered a few days ago and thus sales from the vehicle business can only be booked in the second quarter. The operating loss amounted to §121.6 million, which, according to the company, also includes expenses for research and development “which are not expected to repeat”. Specifically, $45.7 million were invested and the net cash flow from operating activities was $83.7 million.

It will be exciting to see developments from the second quarter onwards, when expenditure will be offset by income from vehicle deliveries. After delivering the first vehicle to a customer in Denmark, the first Fisker Ocean was registered in Germany. The company opened two locations in Munich – the Flagship Lounge in Munich city centre and a location at Motorworld Munich. The Motorworld facilities include a garage with 100 parking spaces to support customer deliveries and test drives.

So far, all vehicles delivered are the Launch Edition One, limited to 5,000 units. In addition to the already-known equipment, another variant is to follow later this year: Fisker published pictures of the off-road version of the Ocean, which will be delivered from the fourth quarter of 2023. The Fisker Ocean Force E is said to have a noticeably higher ground clearance and greater slope angles, as well as 33-inch all-terrain tyres on reinforced 20-inch rims. As the company explains in response to user enquiries via Twitter, the off-road package should also be able to be retrofitted to the existing Fisker Ocean with all-wheel drive. However, the exact details and prices remain under wraps.

fiskerinc.com (quarterly figures), automobilwoche.de (interview in German, paywall), fiskerinc.com (Munich), twitter.com (offroad version)