2023 Fisker Ocean One $72k Msrp on 2040-cars

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Fisker name dropped in favor of Elux, Karma relaunch pushed back

Fisker is dead, long live Fisker. The luxury plug-in hybrid brand's new owner, Wanxiang, says that it is going to get rid of the name when it relaunches the Karma next year. Oh yeah, and the relaunch is now happening in 2016, not early 2015, as previously planned. According to unnamed "sources familiar with the plan" who spoke to Reuters, Wanxiang is going to change the brand from Fisker to Elux. So, if you've been waiting for news on a revived Fisker Karma, you should change your news alerts setting to ping you when there's new information on the Elux karma. Other details about the new Karma remain undecided, like where it will be built – the Valmet factory in Finland where the Fisker Karma was made will not be used this time around. According to the new Reuters report, though, the new Karma will get a 20-percent price increase, to $135,000. We've also heard that the new car will look a lot like the first Karma, which was designed by Henrik Fisker, who gave the now-bankrupt company its name. Related Video:

Fisker Ocean will start at $379 per month under subscription service

As promised, Fisker on Wednesday opened the order books for its forthcoming Ocean battery-electric SUV and announced pricing and other details ahead of its launch in 2022. Also as promised, the eco-luxury ‘ute will come in well below what Volvo is charging under its Care by Volvo subscription program. Fisker will make the Ocean available primarily through a monthly lease that starts at $379 per month through its mobile app, which is now live for iOS and Android platforms. That compares to $700 per month to get into Care by Volvo with the XC40, and mileage limits are twice those of the latter, at 30,000 miles per year, compared to 15,000 for Volvo. That makes good on founder Henrik FiskerÂ’s promises to be cheaper and more generous on mileage than its competitor. However, youÂ’ll need to put down $2,999 to trigger that price level, compared to just $500 to get started under Care by Volvo. And unlike its benchmarked competitor, insurance is not included, though Fisker says it expects customers will be able to access affordable quotes through its mobile app “due to a unique and proprietary low cost of service and maintenance model.” Similar to some other subscription services, the Fisker lease program eschews long-term contracts in favor of giving customers flexibility to return the vehicle any time, even after as little as a month. It also covers maintenance and service, with pickup and return of the vehicle included. Check out AutoblogÂ’s Complete Guide to Car Subscriptions. Fisker says there will be five option packages for the Ocean, available closer to the end of the year, that are designed to reduce the complexity of option configurators. Fisker will also set up what itÂ’s calling “experience centers” in shopping districts and airports where customers will be able to see the vehicles and spec packages. Starting in 2021, customers will also be able to schedule test drives through the mobile app. The company released some new details, including a “California Mode” — presumably a retractable sunroof feature — that will be standard on all trim grades above the base version, four-wheel drive versions with electric motors front and rear, and the promise of a five-star safety rating. Reservations cost $250 and are fully refundable.

Auto startups chasing Tesla race past red flags to go public

Missed out on the Tesla rally but still want to surf the electric vehicle wave? A stream of EV-related startups backed by blank-check firms is lining up to go public so there are plenty of choices. But like Tesla in the early days, few have products ready to sell or any likelihood of generating significant revenue anytime soon. Instead, investors will be relying on rosy production, sales and revenue forecasts for new cars, trucks and batteries, all set to be jostling for a slice of markets that will be far more crowded than when Tesla's cars first hit the road. Take Fisker Inc, for example. It was launched in 2016, just three years after the bankruptcy of its predecessor and early Tesla rival Fisker Automobile. In July, Fisker Inc announced a $2.9 billion reverse merger deal with Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp, a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), and is planning to go public later this year. It has no revenue and its Fisker Ocean electric sports-utility vehicle (SUV) is at least two years away from production in a project heavily dependent on nailing down deals with partners who will build the car and provide key components. That's not particularly unique for young companies in the sector looking to use SPACs to go public and bypass the scrutiny of a traditional IPO process, according to company presentations and interviews with executives and investors. That also didn't seem to be an issue earlier this year when U.S. electric truck maker Nikola Motors used a SPAC to go public. Shares in the company that hopes to generate revenue next year almost trebled after listing on the Nasdaq exchange. But they slumped when a short-seller questioned whether founder Trevor Milton had made false claims about Nikola's technology, forcing the 38-year-old entrepreneur to step down as executive chairman — and making some investors more cautious. Nikola and Milton have publicly rejected the accusations and have threatened to take legal action against the short-seller, Hindenberg Research. "Good storytelling is an important component of being a good founder and entrepreneur — but it better not be the only component," says Evangelos Simoudis, managing partner and founder of startup investor Synapse Partners. 'IT'S A FORECAST' Fisker Inc's founder Henrik Fisker is well known in the industry for designing sports cars such as Aston Martin's Vantage, and for his failed EV firm Fisker Automobile that went bust in 2013 after burning through more than $1 billion.