Henrik Fisker must need a neck brace after the whiplash of his company going from one of the more promising electric vehicle startups on the market to shutting its doors in about a year. Now, not terribly long after launching its first model, the Ocean, Fisker is filing for bankruptcy and selling off all its assets.
Seeing EV startups flame out quickly isn’t unusual, but Fisker showed so much promise early on that—for a minute anyway—it seemed positioned to weather the financial storms that burden all young brands like this. Not only was there a ton of initial customer interest in the Ocean, but it was being manufactured by Magna Steyr, one of the oldest and steadiest players in the business. However, less-than-ideal early sales and dwindling interest—certainly not helped by bad reviews—hurt not only Fisker’s bottom line, but also its stock.
It was only a matter of time until the bottom fell out, which seemed to finally happen in February. Fisker reached a tipping point, as its stock price dropped to less than 38-cents per share, and it struggled to manufacture enough vehicles to keep its head above water. The automaker tried to secure funding by partnering with a major industry partner, rumored to be Nissan, but that deal fell through. After that, the New York Stock Exchange delisted Fisker’s stock, and the brand spiraled.
With its recent struggles, it’s hard to remember that in 2020 Fisker was valued at $2.9 billion and had more than $1 billion in cash to work with. However, despite all of Fisker’s spending on manufacturing and marketing, it barely even managed to sell 5,000 cars, less than half of what it built. While Fisker was technically selling vehicles, they mostly went to early adopters and reservation holders.
EV startups fail so often—look at Lordstown and Faraday Future—so this news isn’t a huge shock, especially given the headlines we’ve published throughout 2024. Still, its disappointing. Fisker, founded by longtime automotive designer and executive Henrik Fisker, had cool designs, interesting future car concepts, and a lot of promise. But with the EV market saturated as it is, and so many other options with far superior dealer networks, quality control, and warranties, selling customers on a new company without those perks can be challenging. Let’s pour one out for Fisker, whose time on the market ended before it really ever began.
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