2023 Fisker Ocean on 2040-cars

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Fisker cuts production forecast as challenges mount for EV startups

Fisker Inc lowered its 2023 production target on Tuesday, the latest sign that U.S. electric-vehicle startups were struggling to ramp up output in the face of supply chain constraints, easing demand and a tight cash position. Shares of the company slumped 12% in premarket trading. This comes just days after the automaker announced it had delivered its first Ocean SUV in Denmark, followed by its first vehicle registration in Germany. The results follow weak earnings and a production outlook cut overnight from Lucid Group Inc, sending its stock tumbling 10%. U.S. EV startups' hopes of shaking up the industry collided with rising interest rates and sluggish demand, with many grappling with production challenges. Market leader Tesla has also cut prices to stoke demand. Fisker now expects to produce between 32,000 and 36,000 units in 2023, compared with its previous target of 42,400 cars. The company blamed the cut on supply chain issues and an updated timing for homologation, or the certification for roadworthiness. Its 32-cent per share adjusted loss for the first three months of the year was also larger than Wall Street estimates for a 30-cent loss, according to Refinitiv data. As of March 31, Fisker had about $652.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared with $1.04 billion a year earlier. The company expects to produce between 1,400 and 1,700 vehicles in the second quarter. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Earnings/Financials Green Plants/Manufacturing Fisker SUV Electric

Fisker Ocean enters production this week without some ADAS features

At the beginning of the year, Henrik Fisker said his eponymous company anticipated the Ocean battery-electric crossover entering production in November, first deliveries happening in early 2023. In the latest update during the Q3 earnings call with analysts, Fisker said everything is on track, the Ocean expected to start rolling down the production line at Magna Steyr's facility in Graz, Austria on November 17. If that happens, then dealers would be handing over the first sets of keys to retail customers next February. Hitting the milestones might be a bigger pick-me-up for Fisker than the customers, showing the longtime design executive may finally have the right team in place to become a successful auto executive. There will be some hiccups, however. Automotive News reports the first Oceans will be delivered without some software features because Fisker doesn't want to delay production while the coding is sorted. Most of the omissions are from Fisker Intelligent Pilot, the advanced driver assistance suite. Affected units will not have automatic high beams, blind-spot monitoring, and lane-keep assistance, which the company hopes to add with an over-the-air update early next year. Based on the production timeline, that could mean only the Fisker Ocean One, limited to 5,000 units and built into Q2 of next year, will be affected. Lane centering and traffic-jam assist are anticipated to come at the end of 2023. Cruise control is another casualty, unavailable until later next year. Fisker told Autonews he believes "There's also, quite frankly, a lot of customers that may not care about it, so why wait to launch the vehicle? And you know you're going to maybe get it three months, six months, nine months later." Based on the analyst call, Fisker Automotive is prepping for the trials of homologation in Europe and the U.S., and wants to do as much as possible at once instead of doing piecemeal software certifications. Delivering vehicles without certain software-enabled features that will be added later shouldn't surprise anyone. Volkswagen did the same with the ID.3 launch. Meanwhile, the chip shortage convinced legacy OEMs to sell cars without features that couldn't be added later.   Fisker's production ramp-up for 2023 intends for Magna to build more than 300 units in Q1, more than 8,000 units in Q2, more than 15,000 units in Q3, and at least 19,100 units in Q4, making a total of 42,400 Oceans. As mentioned, the first 5,000 will be the Ocean One.

Henrik Fisker presents 'Thunderbolt,' a take on the Aston V12 Vanquish

Henrik Fisker's name no longer even appears on the vehicles from his former brand, but since leaving the company, the man is slowly transitioning back into what made him famous in the first place: design. Fisker has already put pen to paper for a concept motorcycle and a carbon-fiber-bodied Ford Mustang. For his latest project, Fisker has made his unofficial return to Aston Martin to create a one-take on the Vanquish called the Thunderbolt. Debuting its carbon fiber skin at the 2015 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, Fisker keeps his transformation of the Vanquish far more subdued than his recent work on the Mustang. He enlarges the grille to take up the entire front end but retains Aston Martin's traditional shape, and the hood receives a power dome with triangular air intakes on each side. In profile, this is still clearly an Aston just sharper and leaner. It's also lowered 0.6 inches and rides on 21-inch wheels. A big change comes at the back where Fisker adds wraparound rear glass and transforms the taillights into thin strips of LEDs. The interior offers a mix of high-end leather and more carbon fiber, plus an 11.6-inch Curved Control Screen from Panasonic. Unfortunately, even if you have the means and want to buy this Thunderbolt, it's not for sale. However, Galpin Aston Martin is taking limited orders for a tweaked version with a revised front end that includes different intakes on either side of the grille and without the Panasonic infotainment screen. As designer for the Aston Martin DB9 and V8 Vantage, the Thunderbolt can be thought of as Fisker's return to the British brand, albeit in an unofficial and extremely limited way. Still, it's fascinating to get a glimpse at what the marque's models might look like, if he were still there. Related Video: HENRIK FISKER UNVEILS HIS LATEST DESIGN STUDY, A TIMELESS GT COUPE, AT 2015 AMELIA ISLAND CONCOURS D'ELEGANCE One-Off V12 Vanquish-Based Coupe Features Carbon Fiber Coach-Work and World's First Panasonic Curved Screen Infotainment System Amelia Island, Florida (March 14, 2015) – Henrik Fisker today took the wraps off of his latest design study, the "Thunderbolt," at the 2015 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. Designed by Henrik Fisker as a powerful GT coupe; this is his personal interpretation of how his Aston Martin V12 Vanquish coupe could look like.