2023 Fisker Ocean on 2040-cars

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Fisker asset sale may not include name, logo

Always read the fine print before you sign the contract. That platitude is taking on new life as word comes that the winning bidder for bankrupt plug-in hybrid manufacturer Fisker may not actually earn the rights to use the company's name and logo. According to Delaware Online, that's because Fisker Automotive doesn't actually own either – they're the property of a different company called Fisker Coachbuild, LLC, and they have been used under license by the carmaker since 2008. This interesting bifurcation of assets brings to mind a previous bit of auto history - Rolls-Royce and Vickers. As it turns out, Fisker Coachbuild not only designs cars and components, it also has the merchandising rights to the Fisker name and logo for things like apparel and branded tchotchkes. How did this happen? According to the report, Coachbuild is a Fisker stockholder, and in 2008, a contract was signed by Bernhard Koehler (co-founder of Fisker and then-chief operating officer of Coachbuild) and designer and company namesake Henrik Fisker. Koehler and Fisker are actually in the logo, in a fashion, since it is supposed to represent the two men (the vertical lines) looking at the sunset (the red half circle) over the ocean (blue). Fisker Coachbuild attorneys have now put the bankruptcy court on official notice about their ownership of these key assets, and it's unclear if this news will affect the actions of leading bidders Wanxiang America, Inc. and Hybrid Tech Holdings. Coachbuild does sound somewhat conciliatory, saying "...it is likely that Coachbuild will consent to the assignment of the rights provided for under the Trademark Agreement as part of the proposed sale" while simultaneously "reserving its rights under applicable law to bar the assumption and assignment of Trademark Agreement without its prior written consent." This interesting bifurcation of assets brings to mind a previous bit of auto history. Back in 1998, British industrial conglomerate Vickers executed a now-legendary bit of wheeling-and-dealing that saw it sell the physical assets of luxury automaker Rolls-Royce to the Volkswagen Group. We say 'legendary' because it only sold the physical assets to VW – not the trademarks associated with them. Those trademarks included the Rolls-Royce name, famed double-R iconography and other assets – assets Vickers subsequently sold to BMW.

A small door ding became a nightmare for a Fisker Ocean owner

Fisker has been floating in the danger zone, teetering on the brink of complete collapse, for months now. That state of limbo looks dramatic from a business standpoint, but the impact on Fisker owners is coming into clearer focus. A recent story from an early Fisker Ocean buyer highlighted the challenges faced by people who bought into the upstart brand, as a simple door ding turned into a nightmare. Someone hit Joy Wanner’s Ocean, causing minor damage to its door. While that would be an annoying but straightforward fix for most cars, FiskerÂ’s state of near-collapse made the process a real headache. A few weeks after the incident, WannerÂ’s insurance company totaled the Ocean, though the damage only amounted to a small surface crease and a broken door hinge, with a total cost of just $910. The insurance adjuster admitted that the total could be much higher, though, as he was completely unfamiliar with the brand and its vehicles. Though she was initially excited to invest in Fisker and its admittedly good-looking EV, the experience soured Wanner on new car companies for good. She told CarScoops, “It was an emotional rollercoaster. One day it would run fine, and the next, a new warning light would blink or ding. It was so frustrating to pay that much money for a car, only to get annoyed every time you used it.” Adding salt to WannerÂ’s wounds, she also experienced many of the issues other Fisker owners reported. She hadnÂ’t received a title from the automaker and said it was impossible to get any answers or help. The insurance company ultimately paid out $53,303 for the Ocean, but that paled in comparison to the price Wanner paid for the hassle of owning the SUV. “We lost over $20,000 investing in this startup EV and I cannot say goodbye fast enough,” she said on Facebook. “The delivery delays, mismanagement of paperwork, reporting issues, and getting case numbers that disappear into thin air, the mysterious warning lights and maddening warning sounds, being trapped inside the vehicle, an unreliable outdated navigation system, one cheaply made barely operational key fobÂ… This vehicle fell very, very short of our expectations and well below my high standards. I hope Henrik Fisker loses every dime he has, and I wish the rest of you the best of luck.”    

Fisker delivers 4,700 electric cars in 2023, shares jump on quadrupled sales

Henrik Fisker shows off the coming Fisker Alaska pickup. (Getty Images)   Fisker said on Friday its electric vehicle deliveries jumped more than four-fold during the final quarter, helping it hand over about 4,700 vehicles for the year. The rise in quarterly sales volume was primarily driven by strong demand for the Fisker Ocean SUV, priced at about $69,000, the company said. Fisker started making its first deliveries to U.S. customers in June. The company will announce a plan in January to boost sales and deliveries to align production capacity with strong demand for the Ocean SUV, Fisker said. Shares of the California-based EV company were up more than 10% in premarket trading. They have lost about 79% so far this year. Smaller EV firms are facing dwindling cash reserves, pressured by high costs related to production ramp-ups and price cuts to boost demand. Fisker, which has a deal with Magna International's Austrian unit to manufacture its cars, made 10,142 vehicles in 2023. The company, however, slashed its annual production forecast twice in the past two months as it slowed down production to meet working capital needs.