2023 Fisker Ocean on 2040-cars

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Fisker Ocean EV production to ramp up to 300 units a day in fourth quarter

Electric-vehicle startup Fisker said on Thursday it expects to increase the production of its Ocean sports utility vehicle to about 300 units a day in the fourth quarter from around 180 units. The company has a manufacturing tie-up with Canadian auto part supplier Magna International, which produces its vehicles for the European and North American markets. Vehicle deliveries are expected to accelerate in North America in September, CEO Henrik Fisker said. As of Sept. 4, Magna has manufactured 3,123 vehicles, with just under 3,000 handed over to Fisker, the company said, adding that more than 450 Fisker Oceans in the US have been either delivered to customers or are in the process of being delivered. Last month, Fisker cut its annual production target due to supply chain issues. That overshadowed a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and its first revenue from deliveries of electric sport utility vehicles. Even as suppliers recovered from a "COVID hangover" to keep pace with Fisker's production ramp-up, one key supplier of a complicated part which needs specific skilled labor, is taking longer than expected, the company had said. Green Plants/Manufacturing Fisker Crossover Electric

New Fisker Karma will look a lot like the old one

Fisker Automotive appears to be wrangling up its proverbial ducks and properly aligning them again after halting production nearly two years ago. After filing for bankruptcy, the Chinese company Wanxiang, like an angel made of money, scooped up the maker of the Karma range-extended electric sports car for the sizeable sum of $149.2 million. Now, Wanxiang is looking to relaunch the Karma by early 2015, and the car that we see upon its revival will likely look quite familiar. An insider who wished to remain anonymous told Automotive News the new Karma "will have to be nearly identical to the 2012 model." Hoping to relaunch quickly, the company doesn't have the luxury of undergoing new safety testing and certification that would be required if it made major changes to the car. Also, the less engineering that needs to be done and the more old parts Fisker can take advantage of, the better. However, another person close to the project paints a slightly different picture of the new Fisker Karma. "The new Karma will be different in many key areas," said the unnamed source, without giving specifics. "It will have noticeable upgrades." Throwing a possible wrench in the works are Fisker's old suppliers, who are none too pleased about being left behind when the automaker stopped making cars. Many ended up clearing out the tools they were using to make parts for the Karma. With the time that has passed, one critical supplier suggests that the new Karma might be a bit stale, stating, "You're not buying something that's considered 'state of the art' necessarily." Still, with only about 1,800 Fisker Karmas having been sold before the disruption, the renewed model, similar as it may be to the old, will still seem fresh to all those eyes that haven't yet beheld the sleek EV. Even if, as some worry, it takes a bit longer to get production back on track, there's sure to be many happy to see the new car (and even some of the old ones) on the road.

Longtime Tesla rival Henrik Fisker exits Twitter after Musk reaches deal to buy platform

Electric vehicle pioneer and Tesla competitor Henrik Fisker exited Twitter this week after his old rival Elon Musk reached an agreement to buy the social media platform for $44 billion. Fisker, who oversees electric vehicle maker Fisker Inc., wrote on Instagram Tuesday: “I believe 100% in free speech. But I do not want my free speech to be actively managed or controlled by a competitor. And I do not want a competitor to determine how my followers experience Fisker as we grow our company.” FiskerÂ’s Twitter handle no longer exists, though his companyÂ’s Twitter feed remained active as of Tuesday with a post of Henrik Fisker test driving a vehicle. Musk did not appear to directly react to FiskerÂ’s move on Tuesday, tweeting two general messages about free speech. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Fisker and Musk have long been adversaries. Tesla sued Fisker in 2008 alleging his design company stole Tesla technology and used it to develop his own vehicle. An arbitrator ruled in favor of Fisker. Henrik Fisker did design work on the Tesla Model S sedan before the car launched, when the project was known by the codename WhiteStar. In the early 2010s, FiskerÂ’s first carmaker, Fisker Automotive, was a rival to Tesla and, for a while, they were on nearly equal footing as Fisker promised to bring his attractive sedan called the Karma to market followed up by a string of sleek cars and crossovers. The company, however, had issues with its battery packs and was hit with a string of bad luck, including losing a shipment of vehicles due to fires and floods related to Hurricane Sandy in 2012. It went bankrupt in 2013. The EV landscape has changed dramatically since then, with most major automakers investing heavily in the technology and newcomers like Lucid and Rivian joining the fray. Tesla, meanwhile, took off and catapulted Musk to even greater international fame, along with his PayPal and SpaceX ventures. Henrik Fisker regrouped and founded Fisker Inc. in 2016. It went public in 2020 and is planning to launch the Ocean SUV this year. Before founding EV startups, Fisker was known as a noted sports-car designer who counts the 2005 Aston Martin V8 Vantage and 1999 BMW Z8 among his highlights. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Green Fisker Tesla Electric Elon Musk Twitter Henrik Fisker