2023 Fisker Ocean Ultra Sport Utility 4d on 2040-cars

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Wanxiang increases Fisker bid by $10m, hints at Delaware production

Just before a judicial hearing tomorrow on the fate of bankrupt Fisker Automotive, one of the two companies fighting over the company's remains, Wanxiang America Corp., said it is willing to increase its submitted bit by a cool $10 million in cash. Wanxiang is ready to bring its total starting bid to $35.7 million and said it is willing to pay 'considerably' more if US bankruptcy judge Kevin Gross approves the sale. Wanxiang says it would pay Fisker's unsecured creditors 50 cents (or more) on each dollar they are owed, while a competing bid from Hybrid Technology LLC would net them less than a penny per dollar. Wanxiang has also said that if it gains control of Fisker, it could restart Karma production in Finland and then wants to build a next-gen model (a hatchback Atlantic, which you can see here) in Michigan alongside the gas-powered version of the Karma, the Destino. Wanxiang is also hinting that it could build future models in Delaware, "if there's enough consumer demand." Remember, attorneys for Fisker wanted the judge to deny Wanxiang's initial bid altogether and want the plug-in vehicle company to be sold to Hybrid Tech. Last year, Hybrid Tech bought the Department of Energy's failed loan to Fisker for $25 million. The loan was originally valued at $529 million, but Fisker only ever accessed $192 million of that before the DOE got suspicious and stopped funding. Featured Gallery Fisker Karma by GS Automotive Art News Source: ABC News, Washington PostImage Credit: Gijs Spierings Green Fisker Electric Hybrid PHEV wanxiang destino

Fisker teases electric crossover again and a high-vis turn signal

Elon Musk turns to Twitter when it's time to spread the Tesla news. Henrik Fisker perfers Facebook. The Danish-American designer took to FB once more to tease his coming electric crossover, this time showing a slice of the rear three-quarter. The feature he wants to highlight is the turn signal set into the D-pillar, which "will provide extra safety when you change lanes." There are a fair few other details to glean as well. Starting from the top, a sunroof opening appears mounted quite a bit rearward. The aperture appears small in view of Fisker promising us that pressing a button will open the roof to create "an extended open-air atmosphere;" so we expect there's another opening over the front seats. The belt line catches the eye; we'll see what it does for rear three-quarter visibility from the driver's seat. The pop-out door handles look to be illuminated by thin LED strips, and more such strips look to define the CHMSL on the tailgate spoiler and taillights. And note the curve of that seriously punched-out rear fender, designed to fit the optional 22-inch wheel. Fisker says the full-on reveal comes this December. From that point, it'll be around an 18-month wait for the production version, planned for the latter half of 2021. Many headlining features have been promised, from the "vastly spacious" and "innovative interior with new utility features," the "captivating design touches that have been traditionally reserved for supercars," and an as-yet-unidentified "new radical feature." Beyond the teasers, what we're expecting is a 300-mile range from a lithium-ion battery pack of at least 80 kWh, a single electric motor standard, two when optioned with all-wheel drive, and a price of under $40,000 to start. The electric mover will be one of three affordable EVs coming from Fisker gathered under the $129,000 EMotion flagship electric sedan. Expect more teasers before December.

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.