Buried as almost a passing note in a recent investor presentation by car designer and founder of EV startup Henrik Fisker It was reported that Volkswagen has delayed negotiations to supply powertrain parts for its company’s next Ocean crossover. Sounds like a big problem.
Fisker Inc. is Mr. Fisker’s last attempt at building some cars, having famously worked on the Aston Martin DB9, BMW Z8, and then trying his thing with the original Fisker Karma hybrid. A 2012 hurricane damaged the company’s inventory, resulting in bankruptcy, and tools were sold for that car to become what is now called Karma Revero, totally divorced from the company of its original creator.
Now he’s trying again, going under the Fisker name (this time as “Fisker Inc.” instead of “Fisker Automotive”) but now with all-electric vehicles, not that compromised hybrid junk. The first production EV is planned to be a crossover called Ocean.
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Fisker claims that the Ocean will produce 300 horsepower and be able to recharge up to 200 miles in 30 minutes, with an estimated total estimated range of around 250 miles.
But for a whileThe open questions have been the big ones. Like where Fisker plans to get all of this next-generation EV technology and how you plan to build it. According to The edgeThe plan was to have an agreement in late July to obtain Volkswagen’s fully configurable MEB electric platform.
But that did not happen, The Verge reports:
In a guided investor presentation filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) early Friday morning, founder Henrik Fisker says his company “has not achieved our goal of signing a fundamental deal with VW by the end of July 2020 as we anticipated earlier. “The deal is supposed to block costs, production capacity, and a production schedule.
Fisker says “look[s] We hope to continue talks with VW again in September after the traditional European summer break, “but adds that Fisker Inc. remains” in conversation with several other OEMs and potential suppliers. “
“It is a reality when working with world-class partners who may not move at our speed,” says Fisker. “This is something that we must be respectful of.”
This could be a big problem for Fisker Inc. as tanks are already being advertised and sold for a vehicle with some projected performance, tanks it accepted without even knowing for certain what the vehicle’s fundamental hardware would be. Any major changes from here could mean major changes to the Ocean as announced. If they are changes for the worse, expect to refund some deposits.
It is unclear what other potential partners Fisker is in talks with, but Tesla recently offered to sell its technology to industry competitors again. Rivian has also made deals with Ford, Lincoln, and Amazon using their new EV collection platform.
But considering how finalized the Ocean seemed to be when Fisker announced it, the company appears to be either tied to drawing up this deal with Volkswagen or will face a massive redesign and a delay in its production plans. Hopefully the Vokswagen vacation is a good one, for Fisker’s sake.
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