Fisker’s Recent Challenges in the Electric Vehicle Market
The last eight months have been quite the rollercoaster for Fisker. The startup EV carmaker appeared to be riding high after its Ocean SUV finally hit the market. Moreover, in August 2023, Fisker revealed three new models: the Pear crossover, the Alaska truck, and Ronin sports car that would join its lineup.
Founder Henrik Fisker even made the ambitious decree that the Alaska would be available by December 2024. However, big swings like that require a bowl full of confidence. Soon though, things started to go south. It all began with Fisker’s Q4 2023 earnings report, in which it revealed substantial doubt about its ability to continue after analyzing its financial standing.
Fisker disclosed it was in talks with a “major automaker” for a cash infusion that could keep the company afloat. Automotive News reported that the automaker in question was Nissan, indicating ongoing discussions regarding the Alaska electric truck. Unfortunately, those talks fell through, leaving Fisker without a partner and, more importantly, without that much-needed investment boost.
The Alaska electric truck was seen as a viable competitor to the Rivian R1T, Ford F-150 Lightning, and Tesla Cybertruck. If introduced at a competitive price, it had the potential to perform well in the current market. If Fisker were to secure adequate funding to meet its production goals, it might have significantly turned things around for the company. However, the direct sales model still requires refinement to address substantial undelivered inventory.
Consequently, Fisker put a six-week halt on all production to focus on selling remaining vehicle inventory to mitigate further financial losses. However, the damage may already be done. The NYSE halted all trading of Fisker stock due to an “abnormally low” price. At the time of this article, Fisker stock is currently listed at just $0.026 per share.
The automaker is currently in default on an $8.6 million interest payment it postponed while it was negotiating for a partner investment. Now that those negotiations have fallen through, it remains unclear how the startup plans to address that debt. Fisker hasn’t officially declared bankruptcy yet, but the outlook appears grim.
