2023 Fisker Ocean One on 2040-cars

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Henrik Fisker seeking Indian joint venture

Henrik Fisker may have backed out of the luxury hybrid automaker that bore his name, but don't dismiss him as down for the count just yet. In his latest initiative, the Dutch automotive designer is looking into starting up a joint venture in India. According to the Economic Times, Fisker was recently on the sub-continent visiting factories and holding meetings with Indian automakers that could see some sort of joint venture announced in the next three to four months, with Henrik himself tipped to join the board of his partnering automaker in an advisory capacity. India is home to such automakers as Tata, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra. It's now been a year since the designer parted company with Fisker Automotive, which was bought by Chinese parts supplier Wangxiang for $150 million. Since then, Fisker's penned designs on an ad-hoc basis, including a high-end Mustang for Galpin and a custom motorcycle for Viking, through his new consultancy HF Design & Technology. Before starting Fisker Automotive, Henrik Fisker designed such notable machinery as the Aston Martin DB9, BMW Z8 and the ill-fated but beautiful Artega GT. He then got into the coachbuilding business, rebodying Mercedes SLs and BMW M6s for discerning and wealthy customers. News Source: Economic TimesImage Credit: Nam Y. Huh/AP Design/Style Green Fisker Henrik Fisker

Fisker Ocean takes to L.A. Auto Show

Fisker has brought the new Ocean EV to the L.A. Auto Show, with a public preview at Manhattan Beach and a presence at the show itself. You can watch the public show reveal above, and see more shots from the show floor below. Fisker says the Ocean will start at $37,499 before incentives. That entry model would be the Sport trim with a single, 275-horsepower motor driving the front wheels and 250 miles of estimated range. It also has a 0-60 time of 6.9 seconds. Moving up to the Ultra version at $49,999 gets dual-motor all-wheel drive, 540 hp, 340 miles of range and a 0-60 time of 3.9 seconds. The $68,999 Extreme trim gets AWD, 550 hp, 350+ miles of driving range and a 3.6-second 0-60 sprint. Fisker Ocean View 5 Photos Fisker also touted the previously announced lease program where customers can choose the length of the lease with a monthly price as low as $379 a month. The lease fleet would be in service for twelve years before being completely recycled by Fisker. The electric ute will feature eco-friendly materials (recycled fishing nets and T-shirts, for instance), a solar roof that can open in a "California Mode," a multi-link rear suspension to help bolster its sporting chops and an aerodynamic system that aims to balance minimizing drag with optimized cooling. We've also already seen a 'Force E' package that would turn the Ocean into a more rugged off-roader for interested fleets.   > More L.A. Auto Show coverage   Today, Fisker also showed the Ocean's rotating infotainment screen, which can be oriented in portrait or landscape mode. At a sneak preview near the company HQ in Manhattan Beach, Henrik Fisker said the company logo is inspired by an ocean sunset. "That's where the orange and blue come from," he said, "with the two vertical lines symbolizing thee designer's pencil and the engineer's ruler — the tools of our trade. My inspiration for the logo happened on a day very much like this one." The new affordable EV crossover is scheduled to begin production a year from today at Magna-Steyr's Graz, Austria factory, though Henrik Fisker said the company is moving fast and could possibly deliver units before then. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Fisker wants $5,000 nonrefundable downpayment to buy Ocean One

In a March press release, Fisker Automotive said it had surpassed 40,000 reservations for its Ocean SUV and would "open pre-order reservations for the limited-edition Fisker Ocean One on July 1, 2022, due to anticipated demand." Later in the same release, CEO Henrik Fisker said, "Our goal is to be completely transparent with our customers. ... We don’t want reservation holders who expect to purchase a Fisker Ocean One to be disappointed, so we are providing them now with the opportunity to secure their vehicle." Those anticipating the chance to buy an Ocean One might not have been disappointed by the e-mail Fisker sent this week, but they certainly would have been surprised. As reported by Electrek, turns out the offer of "pre-order reservations" was actually an invitation to pay a $5,000 nonrefundable downpayment for an Ocean One. As in, this isn't a reservation, this is the beginning of the purchase process, and a change of heart won't get the money back.   We need to make three things clear. First, this only applies to the limited-edition, $69,000 Ocean One. Shoppers interested in the serial production Ocean are fine with their $250 deposit. Second, Fisker isn't the first EV maker to ask a healthy four-figure deposit. When Lucid unveiled the production version of the Air, it took reservations from $300 to $7,5000 depending on trim. Of course, the key difference is that all of Lucid's reservations were refundable. Third, it's not like there aren't thousands of people buying cars sight-unseen nowadays. GMC Hummer EV and Ford F-150 Lightning buyers reserved, then paid for, then laid eyes on their rigs. And between the herds of car flippers and shoppers just trying to get the new vehicle they want, folks are not only buying sight unseen online, they're driving hundreds of miles to do it. With that out of the way, let's say we still think this is an, ahem, gutsy move on Fisker's part. Established automakers with a century of production knowledge and gold-plated supplier relationships can't get vehicles built in a timely manner. Nascent EV makers like the aforementioned Lucid, as well as Rivian, are more likely to announce production cuts or delays than a production milestone. Case in point, Fisker planned to have its contracted Ocean builder, Magna, running the Ocean down lines at the end of last year.