American EV Maker Fisker Files For Bankruptcy

American electric vehicle maker Fisker has filed for Chapter 11 in the US, announcing bankruptcy after a tumultuous last few months. The automaker’s financial woes weren’t exactly out of the blue and the manufacturer knocked on all doors possible to save itself. However, with funds depleting fast, the EV manufacturer filed for bankruptcy protection in the District of Delaware. In a statement, the company said it has assets worth $500 million to $1 billion against liabilities between $100 million and $500 million.

Fisker has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

A Fisker spokesperson said, “Fisker has made incredible progress since our founding, bringing the Ocean SUV to market twice as fast as expected in the auto industry and making good on our promises to deliver the most sustainable vehicle in the world. We are proud of our achievements, and we have put thousands of Fisker Ocean SUVs in customers' hands in both North American and Europe. But like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently. After evaluating all options for our business, we determined that proceeding with a sale of our assets under Chapter 11 is the most viable path forward for the company.”

Also read: Fisker Ocean India Launch By End-2023; Limited-Run Vigyan Edition Announced

Fisker first publicly admitted it could run out of money within a year in late February. The company delivered 4,929 vehicles in 2023 against an expenditure of $904.9 million on operations and investing activities. The EV player stopped production of the Ocean electric crossover in March this year at Magna Steyr’s factory in Austria with no foreseeable plan to resume production in the near future. The move led to Fisker filing for reorganisation in Austria where Magna Steyr is in the process of cutting 500 jobs.

The Fisker Ocean was originally set to launch in India by late-2023.

In a desparate attempt, Fisker reduced prices on the Ocean electric SUV bringing the base price down from $38,999 to $24,999. It was a similar case with the higher variants with the Ocean Extreme retailing at $37,499, discounted by $24,000; whereas the Ocean Ultra retailed at $34,999, down by a whopping $52,999.

Also read: Fisker Unveils All-New Electric Vehicle Lineup

Not just the price cuts but Fisker was reportedly laying off various departments in the last few months to reduce costs. The company also reached out to existing automakers looking for a cash infusion or a buyout. Reports emerged of the brand speaking to four automakers with Nissan’s name notably high on the list for a possible tie-up but the deal reportedly fell through.

Carmaker had a plan to offer a range of electric vehicles including a GT car and a pickup.

Fisker’s future lineup would’ve been kicked off by the Ocean with more models in the pipeline. This included the Ronin, a five-seat GT convertible with a limited production run of 999 units. There was a hand-built convertible EV with over 1,000 bhp and 0-100 kmph run of under 2 seconds. The automaker also planned to take on Tesla and Rivian with the Alaska electric pickup truck promising a 550 km range from a 113 kWh battery pack. The Fisker Alaska was also close to production and was initially planned to hit the assembly lines in the first quarter of 2025. There was also the Pear EV, a new entry-level model in Fisker’s lineup with two battery options a range of 290 km and 515 km respectively.

Also read: Fisker Becomes Latest Automaker To Adopt Tesla's North American Charging Standard

Global markets aside, Fisker also had its eyes on entering the Indian market. Company CEO Henrik Fisker had first hinted at plans to sell EVs in India in late 2022 with the company announcing more concrete plans in July 2023. The plans included launching the Fisker Ocean electric SUV in India by September of the same year with deliveries to commence soon after. The company had even announced a limited-run Vigyan Edition for the market based on the Ocean Extreme. Now, however, with bankruptcy proceeding set to take place it remains to be seen if the models will arrive on Indian shores any time soon.

Carmaker planned models across price brackets with the full line-up of cars being revealed last year.

It’s noteworthy to mention that this is the second time Fisker has filed for bankruptcy. The company originally started life as Fisker Automotive founded by Henrik Fisker. It was behind models like the Fisker Karma that arrived over a decade ago. However, with little takers for premium EVs then, the company filed for bankruptcy the first time in November 2013. The Karma is still on sale though but sold by a different company Karma Automotive, which is now owned by a Chinese auto parts supplier Wanxiang Group, which purchased the assets from Fisker Automotive in 2013.

It’s unclear what the future holds for Fisker in the coming months. More importantly, how the customers will be supported during this transition period. Expect more clarity from the courts in the coming months.