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Fisker teases $40,000 electric crossover with 300 miles of range

Henrik Fisker has been at the drawing board for some time, and we've enjoyed following along. We don't know what to do with this latest one, though, because we know almost nothing about it. Fisker, Inc., Henrik's electric vehicle company, promised "a teaser picture and some tech details" on a new EV priced "close" to $40,000. We have the teaser pic, but the tech details are mostly the same EV future-tech buzz every non-traditional player loads up on. It is a crossover, it looks like a Fisker, and it has a front-mounted radar unit behind glass. Those are the exterior concretes. As for the rest of the look, it's "Dramatically sculpted" with "futuristic, elegant muscular look" and there are "captivating design touches that have been traditionally reserved for supercars," By pressing a button, the roof opens in some way to create "an extended open-air atmosphere." An "enhanced +80 KWh lithium-ion battery pack" will provide power, not the solid-state batteries we know Fisker's working on and thought would make their first appearance here. The EMotion sedan will debut the solid-state units. Sounds like the standard version will use a single electric motor, but optional all-wheel drive puts another motor on the front axle. An optional wheel spans 22 inches, but we don't know what size the stock rims are. There's a luxurious, "vastly spacious interior" with "a modern aesthetic and high-quality materials." A "large heads-up display and unique, intuitive user interface... will control some of the latest emerging in-vehicle technologies." All of which could mean anything, so ends up meaning practically nothing. Closer to firm ground, this will be the first of three affordable EV models coming in well below the $129,000 EMotion flagship electric sedan. Fisker, Inc. says the crossover's price will come in below $40,000. The target range is 300 miles when this as-yet-unnamed SUV goes on sale in the second half of 2021. That's a long way off to be shooting for 300 miles. Come 2.5 years, 300 miles could be the baseline distance to be taken seriously. The Tesla Model Y is already there and the Germans are loading their EV cannons with compact offerings right now, led by Volkswagen's ID onslaught. Fisker won't open dealerships, planning to sell direct to consumers and service owners with a "nationwide concierge service model." More details to come, hopefully ones with more specific detailing. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party.

Fisker trying to secure Volkswagen's MEB platform for the Ocean

Henrik Fisker took his beating, stayed in the ring, and appears to be getting on top of the fight to be an electric vehicle automaker. At the beginning of the week, Fisker Inc. announced a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp, backed by private equity firm Apollo Global Management. The merger would value Fisker at $2.9 billion in preparation for a listing on the New York Stock Exchange. This is the same maneuver Nikola Motors recently employed in order to go public. Spartan filed a trove of documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission in advance of the filing, one of them an investor presentation that explained some backstory and hoped-for production path for Fisker's Ocean electric crossover. One key piece of info is that Fisker is in talks with Volkswagen about using VW's MEB modular electric platform and ancillary components for the Ocean. The agreement would include battery packs as well. One slide asserted that "anticipated access to Volkswagen’s industry-leading EV component quality, pricing, and supply chain ... accelerates time to market and dramatically reduces vehicle development costs." Furthermore, this attempt at deeper collaboration with VW is part of a two-year growing partnership. The Verge went through the presentation, noting that Fisker and VW entered a memorandum of understanding in 2017, upgrading that to a "collaboration agreement" in 2018. Audi subsidiary Italdesign built the Ocean crossover Fisker debuted at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, the prototype described as a "near-series prototype" and sitting an MEB platform. This month, the two companies could sign a "cornerstone agreement" to formalize "costs, production capacity, and a timeline." If that happens, a contract covering supply and manufacturing would be consummated before the end of 2020. The timeline in the presentation notes earnest prototype testing next year, with production planned for late 2022. Separately, however, Fisker has said, "Prototype vehicles are expected to start durability testing by the end of this year, and we continue to make significant progress on the development of our sales and service proposition." If the IPO clears all hurdles, Fisker Inc. could receive $1 billion to put toward Ocean development and production. Meanwhile, a recent funding round secured $50 million from Moore Strategic Ventures.

Fisker plans lineup of four electric vehicles by 2025

Fisker recently declared it wants to secure the rights to use Volkswagen's MEB platform to underpin an electric crossover named Ocean. Although the deal hasn't been finalized yet, it released a preview image that sheds light on some of the other cars it plans to release. Company founder Henrik Fisker envisions a four-car range by 2025. Introduced as a concept at CES 2020, the Ocean takes the form of a battery-powered soft-roader that's about the same size as the Ford Mustang Mach-E. Although we don't know which platform it will be built on yet, it's expected to enter production in early 2021 and land with a base price in the vicinity of $38,000 before local and federal incentives enter the equation. Fisker announced it will also launch a flexible lease program. Fisker described its second vehicle as "a segment-busting super-sports sedan based on the EMotion concept," and its preview image shows the design study it introduced during CES 2018. There's no word yet on how it will evolve as it makes the transition from a show car to a production car, but Fisker explained it delayed the sedan's introduction until 2022 at the very earliest, in part because the solid-state battery technology it hopes to make available isn't ready for production yet. It also anticipates the Ocean will sell in greater numbers than the EMotion. The California-based company's range will also include a "sports crossover," which looks like a fastback on stilts in the vein of the BMW X4. Shown for the first time, it seemingly receives a much sportier design than the Ocean. Finally, it reaffirmed its plans to enter the burgeoning electric pickup segment, but the truck it plans to catapult into this increasingly crowded ring is hidden under a sheet. Fisker added all of the aforementioned models will be built using "platforms, battery packs, and components" sourced from the world's leading manufacturers and suppliers. They'll all be electric — gasoline-, diesel- and hybrid-powered vehicles aren't part of Fisker's plan. Fisker can talk the talk, there's absolutely no doubt about it, but now it needs to prove it can walk the walk. It's in the process of going public by merging with a blank-check company backed by Apollo Global Management. The deal will give it a $2.9 billion value, and provide it with $1 billion in gross proceeds it will use to make the Ocean a reality. Proceeds from that model will presumably be used to develop and launch production of its other cars.