2023 Fisker Ocean on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Fisker, Quantum pairing up to relaunch Karma PHEV

The upcoming relaunched Fisker Karma will look a lot like the old one. Turns out, the brains of the car will share a lot with the old Karma as well. Fisker (and its new owner, Wanxiang) and Quantum Technologies have announced a deal worth over $5 million. Quantum is going to license its plug-in hybrid control software to Fisker in exchange for $2 million this month and another $2 million a year from now. The first payment will be used to get the software into the relaunched Karma and the next payment is for "Fisker Auto Group's planned Atlantic vehicle line." Fisker has the option to pay more by October 27, 2016 to "acquire joint-ownership of the hybrid control software for the Karma, Atlantic and future platforms." There's another part of the deal worth "approximately $1.35 million" for software development services over the coming year. If this all has a somewhat familiar ring to you, you might be thinking about the $10.2 million that Fisker gave Quantum five years ago to develop the PHEV powertrain when it was still called the "Q-Drive plug-in hybrid system." The fact that we're talking about a relaunch now tells us something about how that all turned out. Maybe it'll be better this time, if those 250 bugs get squashed. Quantum Technologies Enters into License Agreement with Fisker Automotive and Technologies Group LLC to provide Plug-In Hybrid Control Software to Support Re-Launch of the Fisker Karma Vehicle - Control Software Agreement to provide Quantum with more than $5.0 million over the coming year - Control software license to cover Fisker Karma and Atlantic series with option for joint-ownership for these and other future platforms LAKE FOREST, Calif., Nov. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc. ("Quantum") (NASDAQ: QTWW), a global leader in natural gas storage systems, integration, and vehicle system technologies, today announced it has entered into an agreement with Fisker Automotive and Technologies Group LLC ("Fisker Auto Group") pursuant to which Quantum will license its plug-in hybrid control software to Fisker Auto Group and, in return, will receive an initial payment of $2.0 million on or before November 27, 2014, and a second payment of $2.0 million on or before October 27, 2015.

Fisker adds dealerships to direct sales model to boost EV sales

Electric vehicle company Fisker said on Thursday that it would add dealerships alongside its direct-to-customer distribution model to expand its sales and delivery network. The California-based company, which sells its vehicles across the United States and Canada apart from other markets in Europe, has only two showrooms or Fisker Lounges in North America — one in Los Angeles and the other in New York. In other locations, it has retail stores called Fisker Center+. Fisker said, in Europe, it will continue to offer direct sales but will bring onboard partners for sales and distribution. While the EV startup made more than 10,000 vehicles in 2023, it delivered only about 4,700 units of the Ocean sport utility vehicles due to distribution constraints. "We are evolving our business model and intend to add as many as 50 dealer partners in the US and Canada and a similar number of dealer locations in Europe this year," CEO Henrik Fisker said. The company expects to send its first Ocean vehicles to new dealers by the end of the first quarter, Fisker said, adding that it has been in talks with dealer partners since November 2023. Lucid, Rivian and Fisker have followed an online and direct-to-consumer model that was started by Elon Musk-led Tesla, in their efforts to cut out middlemen that dealership models have. Earlier this week, Vietnamese electric car maker VinFast Auto said that it had signed its first five dealerships in Texas, New York, Kansas and North Carolina. Swedish EV maker Polestar also uses a dealership model. 

New Fisker Karma spare parts coming soon

It's easy to fall in love with the Fisker Karma based on looks alone. Figure in the luxury interior, electric drivetrain, and the convenience of the extended range, and it's hard to fault anyone who took the plunge and plunked down their hard-earned dollars for this swank green machine. Things go wrong, sure, as they do with any vehicle, but when the company goes bankrupt and you can't get the parts to get your car running again, let's just hope you really like the way it looks in your garage. Fisker's new owner, Wanxiang, has some welcome news. "The Fisker team is settling and still negotiating with over 300 suppliers," says Linyun Frank Qi, Fisker Coordinator at Wanxiang America, in a note to the Fisker Owners Club. "Most of them are good to go now which means we will soon have access to all the parts and also means you will soon have access to them too." Qi says he had an accident of his own in the company show car, which is still in the shop, so he can empathize with other Karma drivers. Wanxiang, a highly profitable auto parts company, bought Fisker earlier this year, along with its battery supplier A123 Systems. The company says it has grown the Fisker team from 20 to 80 people in recent months. The news that parts will soon be available could also be evidence that Fisker is closer to beginning production of the Karma again. Fisker bought an old GM plant in Delaware as part of the deal to purchase the company, and has said that there is a "50-50" chance of building cars in the state. It also wants to build a second model beginning in 2017.