2023 Fisker Ocean on 2040-cars

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5 new electric car companies coming in 2023 and beyond

It’s an exciting time in the automotive world as the industry shifts to electric vehicles at a rapid pace. With the changes, there are opportunities for new automakers to get traction and join the EV frenzy. Tesla did it over a decade ago, and now, a handful of well-funded startups hope to take on legacy automakers with new and innovative EV models. To help you make sense of the market, weÂ’ve outlined some more promising EV upstarts that weÂ’ll see in the next couple of years. LetÂ’s get rolling with our list of new EV automakers weÂ’ll see soon. VinFast VinFast is a Vietnamese automaker with headquarters in Singapore. ItÂ’s the first brand from the company to sell in other countries. The company says it will open dozens of dealerships in the U.S. by the end of 2022, though all will be in California. Two models will be available when the automaker launches in the U.S.: VF 8 and VF 9. VinFast will offer a unique battery subscription service that separates the cost of the vehicle and the battery. Read more: How Vietnam's VinFast wants to reach America's EV mainstream Read more: VinFast plans competitive pricing* to win over U.S. EV market (batteries not included)   Fisker Henrik Fisker, the guy who designed the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB9, didnÂ’t have the best luck with his first self-named automotive company in the 2000s. The Fisker Karma he created during that time lived on as the Karma Revero and now the Karma GS-6, but the original Fisker Automotive is long defunct. The auto design genius is back with another company bearing his name, though this time itÂ’s sleek electric vehicles heÂ’s designing, not futuristic plug-in executive sedans. The Fisker Ocean will be first out of the gate and is expected to start production in late 2022, and it's expected to be followed by the low-cost and unique Fisker Pear. Read more: All our coverage of the Fisker brand   Canoo CanooÂ’s vehicles look as funky as its name sounds, but that uniqueness has made the company hard to forget. That said, Canoo has had its share of management disputes and challenges getting products off the ground. The automaker plans to release a van, a pickup truck, and a boxy delivery van that looks like itÂ’s made from Legos. CanooÂ’s van and truck feature a unique cab-over design that places the driver and front passenger over the front axle rather than behind it. The look is similar to old-school semi-trucks and school buses and is unlike anything else on the road.

Karma Automotive holding another hiring fair

Tesla Motors has already started putting out calls for the thousands of workers it will need at its massive Gigafactory outside of Reno, Nevada. Now, Fisker Karma Automotive is doing the same for its not-as-massive plant being built in the state next door. To a smaller extent, of course. Karma, which used to make the high-end Karma extended-range plug-in when it was still Fisker, is planning a job fair for prospective workers in Southern California's Inland Empire east of Los Angeles, according to local paper the Press-Enterprise. Specifically, Karma's job fair will take place October 10 in Moreno Valley. The company will pay as much as $26 an hour to fill its positions, and the automaker needs everything from welders to painters to fabricators, oh my. This isn't Karma's first job fair this year. This summer, the company did the same in an effort to hire about three-dozen people. The automaker didn't specify how many people it was looking hire this time out. Moreno Valley, which is about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, is where Karma is building a 556,000-square-foot factory in its return to action after about three years being out of business. The company, which is now based in Costa Mesa, CA, has said it was looking to bring in about 150 for its new factory. Fisker went bankrupt in 2013 after building about 2,600 of its Karma PHEVs. China-based Wanxiang bought Fisker out of bankruptcy early last year for $149.2 million. There were rumors that the company would rename the Karma vehicle the Elux, but there is no mention of that name on the new Karma Automotive website. Featured Gallery 2012 Fisker Karma: Second Drive View 30 Photos News Source: Press-Enterprise Green Plants/Manufacturing Fisker California plant extended-range plug-in karma automotive

Fisker announces plans to build an electric pop-up Popemobile

Resurrected EV builder Fisker announced early Friday that it plans to build an electric Popemobile for Pope Francis based on its forthcoming Ocean EV. Fisker says it will deliver what it is calling the first all-electric papal transport vehicle next year ahead of starting series production of the Ocean. Fisker says company representatives pitched the idea to the Holy See in a private audience on Thursday. The announcement comes just days after a Biden administration official indicated that electrification of the presidential limousine dubbed "The Beast" is under consideration.  The presentation to His Holiness included the design sketch and renderings above. They're a bit on the quick-and-dirty side, but check out photoshopped Pope Francis in his little pop-up (Pope-up?) roof bubble thingy. D'aww.  "I got inspired reading that Pope Francis is very considerate about the environment and the impact of climate change for future generations," Henrik Fisker said in the announcement. "The interior of the Fisker Ocean papal transport will contain a variety of sustainable materials, including carpets made from recycled plastic bottles from the ocean." For now, this is a one-and-done project; Fisker did not announce plans to supply any additional EVs to the papal fleet. Hey, beats a Dacia Duster, right?